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Community rallies around cop
Stacey Byrnes has lived by the motto when there's a will, there's a way even after she found out she had stage-4 cancer.
NEW YORK - When there's a will, there's a way. Stacey Byrnes, 29, has lived by that motto her whole life, even after she found out she had stage-4 cancer.
"I found a bump on my left leg. I just didn't think it was right," Byrnes told FOX 5 NY. I had to get a biopsy done and then they discovered that it was lymphoma cancer."
The six-year veteran of the NYPD was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma last August. It's a type of treatable, yet aggressive blood cancer. By the time doctors found it, the disease had already spread to her pelvis, neck, and other leg.
"I never would have expected this to happen," Byrnes said. "I was one of the healthiest people."
Her close family, friends, and coworkers rallied behind her through six rounds of chemotherapy and a worldwide pandemic.
In October, Byrnes' colleagues from the 109th Precinct in Queens threw her a socially distanced surprise birthday party.
Her Long Island community also raised $9,000 to help pay off the medical bills.
"Every single day I was hearing from people I necessarily don't talk to on a normal basis," Byrnes said. "Everyone was making sure I was okay, reaching out, seeing how I was."
In January, Byrnes finally got the news she had been praying for. Her cancer was in remission, giving her a new outlook on life.
"I was always a positive person but it just makes you think, you can't control certain things, so, be happy," Byrnes said.
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