2026年2月28日 / 美国东部时间上午8:00 / CBS新闻
艾玛·奥佩拉茨（Emma Operacz）正享受着自己的暑假。她距离从东密歇根大学获得心理学学位只有一个学期了。她的社交生活丰富多彩，两份工作让她忙得不可开交，而且是每场派对的焦点人物。
然而，在2024年6月，当她参加密尔沃基一位老朋友的大学毕业典礼时，奥佩拉茨注意到了一些症状，她以为这只是尿路感染。她服用了非处方药物，并试图忽略这个本应完美周末里的小烦恼。
一周后，症状仍未消失。医生开的抗生素也没有效果。奥佩拉茨开始感到侧腹疼痛并发烧。她累得连工作都无法进行。她说，有两周时间她”几乎卧床不起”。
CT扫描显示没有肾结石或阑尾炎。一天晚上，奥佩拉茨在电话里和姐姐萨拉（Sara）”崩溃大哭”。
“我感觉很糟糕，情况不对劲，”奥佩拉茨说。
她的姐姐立刻赶来，从她的姐妹会住所接走了她。第二天，奥佩拉茨去看了泌尿妇科医生。医生注意到她的腹股沟淋巴结肿大，并把她送到了急诊室。
“我终于见到了医生，做了超声波检查，还像第100次那样验了尿，”奥佩拉茨说。”然后他们进行了盆腔检查。他们说，你的淋巴结肿大，这可能是盆腔感染，也可能是淋巴瘤。他们只是随意地提到了这个可能性。”
我看着姐姐在我眼前消失
奥佩拉茨被诊断出患有T细胞淋巴瘤，这是一种非霍奇金淋巴瘤。达纳-法伯癌症研究所成人淋巴瘤项目的临床主任、肿瘤学家埃里克·雅各布森博士（Dr. Eric Jacobsen）表示，这种疾病约影响15%的非霍奇金淋巴瘤患者。她的具体癌症是ALK阳性间变性大细胞淋巴瘤，这种癌症更可能影响年轻患者。
诊断结果为医生提供了一些线索。奥佩拉茨情况稳定下来，最终出院。萨拉·奥佩拉茨说，事情似乎可以控制。但两天后，奥佩拉茨疼痛难忍，无法动弹。她的淋巴结”感觉像是在全身炸开了”。她的家人叫了救护车。她一到医院，医生就开始给她进行化疗。
奥佩拉茨接受治疗后再次出院，但感染、偏头痛和其他疾病不断让她重返医院。她说，自己的生活仿佛被按下了暂停键，”无法外出”。有一次，萨拉·奥佩拉茨不得不叫救护车，因为她的妹妹”在我的公寓里突然倒下”。
几周后，新的扫描显示癌症已经扩散到她的中枢神经系统和大脑。当地医院无法继续治疗她。7月12日，她被转移到克利夫兰诊所。奥佩拉茨说，在那里的日子里她几乎神志不清。治疗不断失败，她的生存几率也在下降。
“我看着姐姐在我眼前消失。艾玛从一个充满活力的21岁女孩变成了一个只有80磅重、瘦骨嶙峋的人。我不得不帮她洗澡，做一些任何兄弟姐妹都不应该做的事情，”萨拉·奥佩拉茨说。”希望越来越渺茫。有一段时间，我在为她准备葬礼。我帮她签了遗嘱。我非常确定我会失去我的妹妹。”
一种实验性治疗和骨髓移植
奥佩拉茨的肿瘤学家迪帕·贾加迪什博士（Dr. Deepa Jagadeesh）提出了最后一个建议。一些小研究表明，一种名为阿来替尼（alectinib）的肺癌药物可能对患有与奥佩拉茨相同癌症的儿科患者有帮助。与大多数药物不同，这种药物可以穿过血脑屏障，因此对治疗大脑和中枢神经系统更有效。贾加迪什获得了奥佩拉茨医疗保险的许可，开始在2024年8月20日为她开这种药。
贾加迪什博士说，奥佩拉茨的病情很快得到了改善。她能够在父母在克利夫兰租的Airbnb里康复。到9月，她进入了缓解期。但她的医疗旅程还没有结束：贾加迪什希望为她进行骨髓移植。
雅各布森解释说，作为骨髓移植前期准备的化疗可以根除”任何残留的微小淋巴瘤区域”，而捐赠骨髓中的干细胞可以”像攻击病毒或细菌一样攻击淋巴瘤”，这有助于处于缓解期的患者保持健康。
萨拉·奥佩拉茨是合适的骨髓捐献者。她说，自己对此毫不犹豫。
“我是姐姐，而我是唯一的匹配者，这感觉像是命中注定——就像是我的责任。我心中没有丝毫怀疑，没有片刻的恐惧或后悔，”奥佩拉茨说。”如果这意味着能挽救她的生命，我会毫不犹豫地再做一次，甚至一百次。”
11月8日，也就是奥佩拉茨22岁生日的第二天，移植手术顺利进行。手术后，奥佩拉茨在克利夫兰又待了70天。由于免疫系统需要恢复，她必须隔离。
“我远离了所有朋友，无所事事。我厌倦了和爸爸妈妈在一起。那是冬天，日子很黑暗，”奥佩拉茨说。”我想，’好了，一切都结束了。我战胜了癌症，做了移植。接下来该怎么办？我该如何重建我的生活？’”
重建一个新的艾玛
在康复期间，奥佩拉茨参加了在线课程。隔离结束后，她开始进行一些短途公路旅行。慢慢地，她开始感觉自己又回来了。她和朋友们一起旅行，并搬到了俄亥俄州和萨拉一起居住。2025年12月，她终于毕业。
“我终于能够告别大学时代的艾玛。我真正地开始构建一个新的自我，感觉像是一个全新的开始，”奥佩拉茨说。
奥佩拉茨将继续接受定期随访。贾加迪什博士表示，骨髓移植两年后，患者的复发风险会降低。五年后，患者将被视为治愈。
奥佩拉茨并没有等待那个里程碑。今年1月，她开始了社会工作硕士课程。她说，她的目标是帮助癌症患者。
“我觉得我能与他们产生共鸣，帮助别人就像是我回馈社会的方式，因为我在整个治疗过程中得到了那么多帮助，”奥佩拉茨说。”我意识到，是的，我怀念过去的自己，但我不能停留在那里。我必须专注于塑造一个新的艾玛。”
A college student thought she had a UTI. Then came fevers, fatigue and pain: “Something’s not right”
February 28, 2026 / 8:00 AM EST / CBS News
Emma Operacz was enjoying her summer. She was a semester away from graduating from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in psychology. She had a thriving social life, two jobs that kept her busy, and was the life of every party.
Then, in June 2024, Operacz noticed symptoms of what she thought was a urinary tract infection as she attended an old friend’s college graduation in Milwaukee. She took an over-the-counter medication and tried to ignore the annoyance in her otherwise stellar weekend.
A week later, she was still having symptoms. Prescribed antibiotics didn’t help. Operacz began to feel pain in her side and run a fever. She became so fatigued that she couldn’t work. For two weeks, she was “pretty much bedridden,” she said.
A CT scan showed no kidney stones or appendicitis. One night, Operacz “broke down crying” on the phone with her older sister Sara.
“I was like, ‘I’m not OK. Something’s not right,’” Operacz said.
Her sister immediately came and picked up Operacz from her sorority house. The next day, Operacz saw a urinary gynecologist. The doctor noticed the lymph nodes in Operacz’s groin were swollen and sent her to the emergency room.
“I finally got in to see a doctor, do an ultrasound, pee in a cup for like the 100th time,” Operacz said. “Then they did a pelvic exam. They were like, your lymph nodes are swollen. It could be from a pelvic infection, or it could be lymphoma. They just kind of threw that out there casually.”
Emma Operacz in the hospital. Emma Operacz
Operacz knew lymphoma was a kind of cancer, but wasn’t too concerned. She thought, as a healthy 21-year-old, that wasn’t “in (her) deck of cards.” But her symptoms kept getting worse. Her fever got higher and higher, and her heart became unstable. After a week in the hospital, Operacz underwent a biopsy.
Before the anesthesia had even worn off, doctors had a diagnosis: Stage IV lymphoma.
“I watched my sister disappear in front of me”
Operacz was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease affects about 15% of non-Hodgkin patients, said Dr. Eric Jacobsen, an oncologist and the clinical director of the adult lymphoma program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her specific cancer was ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma, which is more likely to affect younger patients.
The diagnosis gave doctors some answers. Operacz was stabilized and eventually released from the hospital. Things seemed manageable, Sara Operacz said. But two days later, Operacz was in so much pain she couldn’t move. Her lymph nodes “felt like they exploded everywhere.” Her family called an ambulance. Doctors began administering chemotherapy as soon as she arrived at the hospital.
Emma Operacz holds a photo of herself receiving chemotherapy. Emma Operacz
Operacz was treated and discharged again, but infections, migraines and other ailments kept bringing her back. She said her life felt like it had been “put on pause.” She “couldn’t stay out” of the hospital. In one incident, Sara Operacz had to call an ambulance after her younger sister “collapsed right there in my apartment.”
After a few weeks, new scans showed the cancer had spread to her central nervous system and brain. Her area hospital could no longer treat her. She was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic on July 12, 2024. Operacz said she was barely lucid during her time there. Treatments kept failing, and her odds of survival kept falling.
“I watched my sister disappear in front of me. Emma went from this vibrant 21-year-old to someone who was 80 pounds, skin and bone. I had to help her bathe. I had to be there for things no sibling should have to do,” Sara Operacz said. “Hope kept shrinking. At one point, I was planning her funeral. I helped her sign a will. I was very certain I was going to lose my sister.”
Emma Operacz in the hospital. Emma Operacz
An experimental treatment and bone marrow transplant
Dr. Deepa Jagadeesh, Operacz’s oncologist, had one last suggestion. Small studies had shown a lung cancer medication called alectinib could help pediatric patients with the same cancer Operacz had. Unlike most medicines, it could cross the blood-brain barrier, making it more effective for treating the brain and central nervous system. Jagadeesh received permission from Operacz’s health insurance to prescribe the medication and began administering it on August 20, 2024.
Operacz’s condition quickly improved, Jagadeesh said. She was able to recover at an Airbnb her parents had rented in Cleveland. By September, she was in remission. But her medical journey wasn’t over yet: Jagadeesh wanted to perform a bone marrow transplant.
The chemotherapy that precludes the treatment can eradicate “any microscopic areas of lymphoma” that remain, and the stem cells in the donated bone marrow can “essentially attack the lymphoma the way it would attack a virus or bacteria,” Jacobsen explained. It can help a patient who is in remission stay healthy.
Sara Operacz was a match to donate. She said she had “no hesitation” about the process.
Emma Operacz, right, and her sister Sara, left, during her bone marrow transplant. Emma Operacz
“I’m the oldest sibling, and being the only match felt like this was meant to be — like it was my responsibility. There was zero doubt in my mind. Not a single moment of fear or regret,” Operacz said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would do it a 100 times over if it meant saving her.”
The transplant was conducted on Nov. 8, 2024, one day after Operacz’s 22nd birthday. Afterwards, Operacz spent another 70 days in Cleveland. She had to stay in isolation as her immune system recovered.
“I was far away from all my friends; I had nothing to do. I was over being with my mom and dad. It was winter. It was just a dark time,” Operacz said. “It was like ‘Alright, everything’s over now. I beat the cancer. I did the transplant. What’s next? How am I supposed to start rebuilding my life?’”
Emma Operacz celebrates completing her 100-day bone marrow transplant cycle. Emma Operacz
“Building a new Emma”
Operacz took online classes while recovering. After her isolation ended, she was able to take some short road trips. Slowly, she began to feel more like herself. She traveled with friends and moved to Ohio with Sara. In December 2025, she graduated at last.
“I was able to say ‘goodbye’ to college Emma. I was able to actually build a new me, and it felt like a fresh start,” Operacz said.
Operacz will continue to receive regular follow-up care. Jagadeesh said that two years after a bone marrow transplant, a patient’s risk of relapse goes down. After five years, patients are considered cured.
Emma Operacz celebrates her graduation at Eastern Michigan University. Emma Operacz
Operacz isn’t waiting around for that milestone. In January, she started a graduate program in social work. She said her goal is to work with cancer patients.
“I felt like I could resonate with it and helping people would be like my way of giving back, because of all the help I received throughout my treatment,” Operacz said. “I realized that, yeah, I miss the old me, but I can’t hold on to that. I just gotta focus on building a new Emma.”
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