The Cancer patient experience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic

Cooper began her treatment at Stanford Medical Center, where she stayed for 57 days. She received constant chemotherapy through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line in her arm. She went through a bone marrow transplant which removed her immune system and replaced it with another. Her blood type changed from O- to B+.

Brody Cooper

Photo Essay By Brody Cooper, CONTRIBUTOR
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cathleen Cooper was diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia), specifically in a blast phase crisis due to the Philadelphia chromosome 22 & 9. This is an aggressive form of leukemia for which the treatment has only been available since around 2005.
This incredibly life-threatening disease changed Cooper’s life for the worse, and to add icing on the cake, taking place during a worldwide pandemic. The uncertainty of the world becomes more severe and comes with worse consequences for her and her family. This photo essay documents her journey of cancer treatment during a global pandemic and the gradual return to everyday life.