UNC-CH student, marathon runner stays in stride after Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis

According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, every three minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. That includes 1.2 million people in the U.S.

One of them is a 20-year-old basketball manager at UNC who is also a student at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He chose to fight the illness in his own way.

Before the diagnosis, James Rolf Blizzard was living his dream. He was a guy with a lot of friends and with plans for a business career. Then came a hitch. “I was actually in class and I noticed it because I had a lump on my neck while working out,” said Blizzard.

Later, the diagnosis was confirmed. He had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of a blood cancer.

“That day, was tough,” said Blizzard.

That's when he met UNC pediatric oncologist Dr. Patrick Thompson. Thompson repeated a series of assurances about Blizzard’s diagnosis.

“This isn't your fault," Thompson said. "We don't know why it happened. This isn't caught late. This is how you catch these things and what was the third thing you needed to remember,” said Thompson, testing his patient’s memory.

“It's very treatable and very curable," Blizzard said.

Still, for Blizzard, it was a hard dose of reality. It was getting in the way of his dreams.

Dr. Thompson remembers an early conversation with Blizzard.

“And the first question he asked me was ‘can I still run the marathon?’ And I'm like, who is this guy?” said Thompson, laughing.

His 20-year-old patient understood the need for medications, surgery and radiation. However, Blizzard had his mind set on qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon on April 15.

“I think it's probably one of the most challenging, mentally, of sports," Blizzard said. "It helped me, I guess, prepare for the battle that I was facing.”

On his mind were many others fighting the same or similar blood cancers. He knew they needed a dose of hope as much as he did.

Dr. Thompson remembers Blizzard’s determination. “He said, I want to do this. I want to do something. I want to make this more meaningful.”

Raising money for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society gave Blizzard more energy at the big race. Blizzard said, “I ran the marathon and I felt the best that I had felt in two weeks since the last treatment.”

He didn't meet his own goals for the race, but that wasn't the point. Dr. Thompson shared that thought with his patient. “Saying that hey, I want to be an example for everyone of not letting cancer define me.”

Blizzard agreed.

“Yeah, it's not going to run my life. I'm going to run my life,” Blizzard said.

Blizzard announced he plans to continue fundraising as he runs in the Berlin Marathon on May 18. That’s a time when he will be off treatments.