Drake graduate shares journey through rare cancer diagnosis, says it taught her to ‘live in the moment’
By Ben Kaplan
Click here for updates on this story
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — “It’s kind of a funny story,” 24-year-old Minnesota native Abbie Whittemore says while reflecting on how she never expected to attend Drake University.
“I was Big Ten schools. Big sports.”
Her mother, Melissa Carstens, had a different perspective.
“She’s like you’re somebody that asks a bunch of questions in class and is super engaged and likes to be involved and likes to lead. I think you might like a small private school, and I was like, no, no way,” Whittemore said.
A detour to Des Moines during a trip to a high school soccer tournament in Coralville led to a pivotal moment.
“And I was like, no, I’ve heard a lot about this campus. I think it’s beautiful and we need to check it out,” Carstens said.
After visiting, Whittemore admitted her mom was right.
“And it was really personal right away. I was like, oh wait, my mom might be right,” she said.
Years later, walking through campus on a fall Friday night brings back memories for Whittemore.
Both good…
“It’s so pretty when the leaves start to change,” she said.
And challenging.
“She was healthy the last time I saw her. And then I got a phone call, and it all changed,” Carstens remembers.
Whittemore was a sophomore when she began experiencing abdominal pain.
“They gave me a CAT scan of my abdomen and found a spot there. Just a small one. They told me to keep an eye on it,” she said.
While studying abroad during her junior year, the pain returned.
“When I came back in March, I went to the doctor for the first time,” Whittemore said.
She says a subsequent scan revealed worrisome changes.
“Came back that it was bigger than it had been the last time. So that was an area for concern,” Whittemore said.
After multiple tests, doctors diagnosed her with Solitary Plasmacytoma of the rib, a rare cancer typically seen in people over 55.
“It was shocking, very hard, very stressful not having her near me,” Carstens said.
Before her diagnosis, Whittemore felt on top of the world.
“Classes were hard but manageable. I was living in a sorority house with 50 of my best friends,” Whittemore said.
But says life changed quickly.
“I still tried to go to classes every day for a while, but I was having a lot of appointments and testing, and I just wasn’t doing very well mentally,” Whittemore said.
Her cancer carried a high risk of progressing to multiple myeloma, which has no cure.
“The anxiety it can bring on is a lot,” Carstens said.
Whittemore said the rarity of her specific cancer meant she would likely notice pain before scans or tests could detect its spread.
“So, every time I have some sort of headache, or I have something, my knee hurts or my back hurts or my hip hurts,” she said. “The uncertainty part is so challenging.”
Throughout her journey, Whittemore found unwavering support from the Drake community.
“Everybody here. My faculty professors, staff that I was working with and organizations were so supportive,” she said.
Carstens echoed the sentiment.
“People really made the time to make it work for her and that was huge. That is a huge thing for me to have seen her still be able to live out and stay on track with what she had hoped to get from the experience,” Carstens said.
Whittemore says her friends also rallied around her.
“I was actually in the hospital for a week that summer and there was never a time that I was alone in that room, which was so cool,” Whittemore said.
Whittemore has been in remission since July 2023.
She graduated a year later and now works as a clinical research associate in Des Moines.
“I love what I do,” she said.
Reflecting on her journey, Whittemore said, “Taught me a lot a lot a lot. Just like how grateful to be and how in the moment to be and how to really say yes to everything.”
Life’s path may have obstacles, but Whittemore has learned it can also lead to special places.
————–
Abbie is this year’s adult honored hero at Light the Night, an event supporting cancer patients and survivors.
Her team, Abbie’s All-Stars, has more than two dozen members and will be participating Saturday night at DMACC in Ankeny.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.