A college student thought she had a UTI. Then came fevers, fatigue and pain: “Something’s not right”

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.”

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. 

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.” 

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. 

“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?'” 

“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. 

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.”