09/05/24
Student proves resilient during cancer battle
Centre, AL – Jhaylan Redwine embodies resilience and determination while charging a path to a future dedicated to healing and service. Not only is she a Gadsden State Community College nursing student but she is also an active-duty member of the Army National Guard and a cancer survivor.
At 25 years old, Redwine is considered a non-traditional student, which is described as one who returns to college after taking a break from their educational journey. She graduated from Model High School in Rome, Ga., in 2017 and attended classes sporadically at Georgia Highlands College for a few years.
“I had to work three jobs to support myself while attending college,” she said. “I decided to look into military service to earn a GI Bill so I could stick to school without working 80 hours a week to support myself and pay tuition.”
In September 2021, Redwine went to basic training in Fort Sill, Okla., and to Missouri where she received job training as a LHS and M915 tactical truck operator.
Now, she is a member of the 1160th Transportation Company in Rome, and she also is in her sixth year of working at Advent Health Redmond, where she has worked in the dietary department and as a phlebotomist and nurse technician to get on-the-job experience. She is also in her final semester of Gadsden State’s Nursing Program.
“I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, but I wasn’t confident that I could do it,” she said. “I felt like I was a mediocre person with mediocre grades. The medical field was much bigger than me.”
It was during her grandmother’s battle with Parkinson’s Disease that solidified her desire to go into nursing.
“I appreciated the care she received,” she said. “I felt I could help her like her nurses were, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know her disease. I decided to learn to help my grandma.”
She enrolled at Gadsden State but soon found herself being the patient. In May 2023, she knew her health was declining. At first, she thought it was because of her busy schedule of juggling Gadsden State, the National Guard and work.
“I just kept pushing through,” she said. “There were other people with bigger problems. I knew I could push through some fatigue.”
In July, she felt odd due to low hemoglobin levels. A transfusion was required, which caused some issues, and she was admitted into the hospital. A computed tomography scan showed a mass in the colon. A colonoscopy confirmed she had stage 3 signet ring cell carcinoma. According to the National Institutes of Health, the median survival time for stage 3 patients is 15.4 months.
“It is one of the worst cancers you can get in your colon,” Redwine said. “Typically, it’s diagnosed too late in younger women because there are few or no warning signs – no visible rectal bleeding, no family history. For some women, it advances to stomach cancer by the time it is diagnosed. I was lucky my cancer was caught early.”
After she was diagnosed, Redwine was still committed to her educational responsibilities. She showed up for a test at Gadsden State Cherokee just one week later.
“I was on a walker, but I was there,” she said. “It was important that I stuck to my studies.”
During her cancer battle, Redwine had a partial colectomy and underwent chemotherapy every two weeks for seven months. Because the chemotherapy required 46 hours to administer, Redwine could be seen in classes and in clinicals with a backpack that provided the medication to her.
She said her battle with cancer was challenging but possible thanks to the support of her instructors, fellow students, her grandfather Ronnell Redwine, and her aunt Robbie Redwine.
“My Pawpaw and aunt were at every treatment,” she said. “They made sure I had everything that I needed so I could focus on my health and my education.”
Classmate Hannah Womack took Redwine to her clinical assignments at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Riverview Regional Medical Center and Advent Health Redmond.
“I could not be where I am today without Hannah,” she said. “She helped me study. She helped with transportation. She encouraged me and was an important reason for me to succeed through the semester.”
In July, Redwine was notified that her scans are clear of cancer. Because she has a genotype that has a high probability of returning the cancer in three to five years, she has to undergo regular scans and colonoscopies to confirm that she is still in remission.
“Being in remission feels like I accomplished something I couldn’t control,” she said. “I’m still a little scared but I’m able to do what I want to do because I’m healthier and I’m stronger. I’m no longer ‘foggy.’ My weight is coming back. It feels good.”
Redwine will join members of her cohort Dec. 12 for the traditional nursing pinning followed by graduation Dec. 19 at Gadsden State Cherokee.
“I am so excited,” she said. “It seems so far away but it’s so soon at the same time. I feel like if I can do it, anybody can do it. You have to have the heart to be a nurse. You have to be resilient. If it’s not earned, it’s not worth it. I was always told by my instructors at Gadsden State to do what I can to do my best, so I did.”
For more information about the Nursing Program and other programs at Gadsden State Cherokee in Centre, visit www.GadsdenState.edu/Cherokee.
Jhaylan Redwine is a nursing student at Gadsden State Cherokee.