Alexandria Navy Captain to Participate in Lymphoma Research Ride

Navy Captain Jeanmarie Patnaude-Jonston has always considered herself one of the funniest people she knows. Even after noticing she had swollen lymph nodes in her neck and being diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in early June, Jonston still has a strong sense of humor.

At the time that she noticed she had swollen lymph nodes, she was home with her mother who was recovering from a recent fall. On June 3, she had a CT scan and soon found out she had lymphoma.

"I had no issues at all except for these lymph nodes. When I found out, I said, 'I don't have time for lymphoma. I'm retiring next year,'" she recalled.

The Alexandria resident and her retired Marine husband reside in Alexandria near Edsall Road. Jonston has spent 30 years in the Navy and has been a medical administrator for many years. She is currently the deputy commander for administration at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and she said her many years working in the medical field is one of the reasons she noticed a problem and went in for tests.

Although many friends and colleagues know about her diagnosis, Jonston has held off telling her mom and older sister.

"I haven't told my mother or older sister. My sister had a stroke in 2009. She hasn't fully recovered and I don't want to worry her. Mom will be 80 years old in October," she explained.

Jonston is going through a trial treatment led by Dr. Bruce Cheson — head of hematology at Georgetown University Hospital. Jonston described Cheson as having a sarcastic sense of humor despite the seriousness of the situation — a huge reason they get along so well.

Cheson along with his wife Christine, combined their professional work with their love of cycling to found the Lymphoma Research Ride in 2007. With some convincing, Jonston finally agreed to participate in this year's 7th Annual Research Ride hosted by the Lymphoma Research Foundation on Sept. 22 in Maryland. She doesn't own a bike but has been practicing for the research ride by renting a bicycle and riding a stationary bike at the gym.

"There isn't any failure in my DNA. The only thing we can do is to get people signed up for trial treatments and figure out how to make it work for each individual patient," she said.

Jonston is one of 500,000 currently living with follicular lymphoma. In her letter to friends, colleagues and family asking for their support and donations for her one-man riding team, Jonston said because of advances in medical research, her chances of beating the disease are better than ever.

"I am writing to ask for your help in the fight against this cancer of the lymphatic system," she wrote. Her original goal was $1,000, but after quickly exceeding that amount with donations from friends, church family and colleagues, she continued to increase it and finally ended at $7,000 — another goal she has met and exceeded.

"If you tell people what you're doing and why, they'll show support," she said. "Someone's research at this point is what helped me and is why this is important and why I'm participating in the ride."

Although Jonston has met her goal of $7,000, support for the cause is still welcome. Visit her Research Ride webpage to donate.

The goal for this year's Lymphoma Research Ride is $550,000. The organization has currently raised more than $260,000 with 13 more days to go before the event. Click here to help raise awareness and donate to further medical research for lymphoma.