Rachael beat stage IV lung cancer despite doctors’ predictions!

Just 30, seemingly healthy and an athlete her whole life, Rachael Drazan-malmberg was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Doctors didn’t hold out much hope. But then, they didn’t know Rachael . . .

From the moment she awoke, Rachael Drazan-Malmberg could feel it: that nagging pain in her ribs.

An athlete since childhood, the hockey star had been a contender for the U.S. Olympic team and still played. So when her doctor said, “You’re training too hard,” Rachael decided to take it easier.

Yet still, the pain in her right side worsened.

“This isn’t right. You’ve always had a high pain tolerance. You never complain,” her concerned mom said, insisting she get an MRI to investigate further.

So that’s what the 30-year-old Watertown, Minnesota, mom did. And what the MRI revealed was terrifying: Rachael had a mass in her lung.

“Is this real?”

Further tests revealed even worse news: Rachael had Stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized to her lymph nodes and brain.

Is this really happening? This has to be a nightmare! I’m only 30. I’m in excellent shape. I don’t even smoke! Rachael panicked.

Suddenly, all she could think of was her daughter. Harper was just three. I can’t let her grow up without a mom! Rachael knew the odds were against her. In fact, the more research she did, the more she saw that most doctors considered cases like hers inoperable. But in order to shine in the hockey rink, she’d always had to summon focus. She’d had to put on a brave face. She knew then that she had the physical strength and mental fortitude to beat anything—because the competitor in her would not give up without a fight. Only this time, I’m fighting for my life, Rachael realized. So she and her husband, Jason, decided to head to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where doctors had developed a targeted therapy specific to the genetic mutation that tests showed caused Rachael’s cancer. The goal was to shrink her tumor so it could be removed. The treatment would be grueling: a combination of harsh drugs and aggressive radiation. To keep her body strong, Rachael pushed herself to continue exercising and began doing yoga and meditation, too. She added juicing to her diet, often blending carrots, green apples and lemon. And she told Jason, “Your sole job is to take care of Harper. I need you to be the stable person in her life. I don’t want you to worry one bit about me.”

But, of course, family members and friends did worry about Rachael, showering her with get-well cards and prayers and holding fundraisers to help with medical bills. And as she scooped Harper onto her lap, even though every part of her body ached, Rachael told herself: You have so many people rooting for you. Keep fighting!

Proof of miracles!

Blessedly, after three months, Rachael’s tumor had shrunk! But even after surgeons removed it along with 22 lymph nodes in her chest, she wasn’t out of the woods: twice, her lung collapsed.

Sitting in bed, pushing all her breath into an instrument doctors had given her to relearn how to breathe, Rachel had never felt more exhausted or fragile. But later, she would hear Harper’s little voice say, “You better, Mommy?” and she’d smile. “I’m going to be,” she promised. And just six months after her near-deadly diagnosis, her treatment complete, Rachael and her family and friends cheered when every test showed no evidence of disease. “We’ve never seen recovery like this from a Stage IV patient!” her doctors marveled.

Today Rachael remains healthy, the subject of several medical studies. She’s back to playing hockey in charity tournaments, coaching a girls’ hockey team and now also works with the American Cancer Society as an advocate for patients. She’s even training for a marathon!

And, whether she is running or cooking, little Harper—now five—is usually alongside her.

After dinner, they snuggle together and read about the adventures of Amelia Bedelia. And every time Harper nestles into her arms, Rachael is overwhelmed with gratitude that she listened to her body and kept seeking an answer for the inexplicable pain— and to her nagging mom for insisting she get checked!

“You have to put your foot down. Push for a diagnosis. And if one doctor says they can’t help you, find another. What you believe is what you can achieve, and this experience has taught me to truly appreciate every minute of my life and everyone in it,” Rachael says. “I’m proof of hope and miracles!”

“To hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” CHRISTOPHER REEVE