If you don’t know about the Santa Susana Field Lab near Los Angeles (formerly known as Rocketdyne), please know that the radiation I was exposed to in our water and soil as a child created a lifelong battle with cancer for me. 

This is the fifth time I’ve had cancer in my life. FIFTH.

There is zero family history of thyroid or uterine cancer in my family. As a child, my team of doctors at UCLA all agreed the only way I could have thyroid cancer as advanced as mine was if I was exposed to radiation. 

That’s when my parents learned about the Santa Susana Field Lab. 

The difference between these two pictures is 38 years. The diagnosis is the same. In November I ended up in the hospital after battling abdominal pain for the better part of a year. When the symptoms first started, I went to my doctors and they ran tests, ultrasounds, blood work and could not figure it out. The week before I was admitted to the hospital, I had an annual physical that showed there was nothing wrong with me. 

It wasn’t until a CT was performed in the hospital that we found out the source of my problems. Recurrent metastatic cancer throughout my abdomen and lungs. I spent three days in isolation in the hospital (visitors were limited because of Covid). I cried. I was angry. So. Angry. I paced the halls, slept and cried some more. 

A few days later I had surgery with my oncologist at City of Hope where he confirmed a recurrence of Low Grade Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma which I was originally diagnosed with in 2014.

It’s one of the rarest uterine cancers in the world with a high recurrence rate.

We were happy to hear it was a cancer I’ve already had and not something new. I mean, it’s insane to say “we were happy about” which cancer it was. My oncologist at City of Hope is incredible. He’s a no nonsense kinda guy who gives me facts, shows me pictures of which tumors we need to shrink and provides me with studies of full remission of women with my same diagnosis. I don’t need puppy dog eyes and hand holding. I need to know how to beat this AGAIN so that I can sit front row at my girl’s high school graduations; to be there for all of the milestones in their lives. It’s scary. It’s awful. Some days I cry and I’m PISSED.

I’m in pain most days…the medications make my bones ache from the inside out. Other days I wake up ready to conquer the world. 

So, on this beautiful blue sky Tuesday in Southern California, I wanted to share my story. This battle is just beginning for me but I WILL fight like hell and live. I have an incredible village of support and love. Most importantly, I have my husband by my side. He's my rock, who tracks my symptoms, picks up prescriptions, holds my hand as long needles disappear into my stomach, loves me while menopause kicks my butt and is there for everything else under the sun. We will become grandparents together. We will grow old together, travel and cross things off our bucket list. Together. 

Will you share this petition now, to help us reach 1,000,000 signatures for the cleanup? Because until we get the complete cleanup, other children in the community could suffer a similar fate to Jessica.

This was shared with Jessica Gesel’s permission. Jessica has been an active voice, fighting for the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab in the hills near her home. You can learn more about the SSFL at www.ParentsAgainstSSFL.com