Help Jocedel Fight Stage 4 Refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Reach Her Lifesaving Stem Cell Transplant
Hi, my name is Jocedel Ugarte. I’m a 29-year-old mom and I’ve been fighting this dreadful illness since 2023.
In what was supposed to be a promising year for me, I was working hard and had just been set for a promotion. But during a routine medical exam, doctors found a large mediastinal tumor in my chest. A few months later, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
What followed was a long and grueling treatment process. I completed 8 cycles of ABVD chemotherapy from May 2023 to February 2024, followed by 25 sessions of radiotherapy by June 2024. I stayed strong and hopeful, thinking I was nearing the end of the fight. But in September 2024, my PET scan showed residual cancer activity. Even worse, subtle lesions were found in my right femur, and by January 2025, they were confirmed to be bone metastases.
Despite all the treatment I had already endured, the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 Refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I underwent radiotherapy to my femur, which helped temporarily, but the pain returned by May 2025. A biopsy confirmed that the disease was still active.
On June 9, 2025, I will begin Brentuximab Vedotin, a second-line treatment for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My goal is to reach remission, because once I do, I will need an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT), the next and most crucial step in my fight for survival.
The cost of this lifesaving transplant is 3 million pesos (approximately 160,000 USD), a staggering amount that my family and I cannot afford alone.
Your support through this fundraiser campaign will go directly toward my stem cell transplant and related medical expenses. Every donation, big or small, will bring me closer to healing.
This fight isn’t just mine. I’m also a mother to a beautiful 5-year-old girl with autism and language impairment, who needs me more than ever. She is my light, my reason, and my strength, and I want nothing more than to be here for her as she grows.
Cancer has taken so much from me — my health, my career, and my normalcy, but it hasn’t taken my will to fight. If you can help me take this next step, you’re not just helping me get treatment. You’re helping me reclaim my future and my chance to live.
Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for standing with me.
With love, hope, and light,
Jo
