Cancer Survivor’s Story Shows the Power of a Positive Mind
February 14, 2023
When Jamela Mack was coming up on the third anniversary of being cancer-free, there was only one place she wanted to be to celebrate: The Happy Place!
Jamela, from New York, New York, wrote to “The Jennifer Hudson Show” to share that she would love to attend a taping of the show to celebrate being cancer-free for three years. She had no idea that Jennifer would invite her to the couch to be on the show!
“I am a huge Jennifer Hudson fan,” Jamela told the live studio audience between tears on the February 14 episode of the show.
“Your energy is amazing, it’s so uplifting,” she said to JHud. “You’re always shedding light on so many positive things. I felt like as I approached year three of being cancer-free, what better way to celebrate being cancer-free than with Jennifer Hudson?”
“You have me crying over here,” replied JHud.
In 2019, Jamela found a mass in her upper chest. She was working full time, attending grad school, interning, and parenting her 8-year-old daughter, Jayla, as a single mom. “I felt like I can’t slow down, but I was a little worried,” she recalled. “I was only 28. I didn’t think anything like cancer could touch me.”
She decided to go to the doctor, and they discovered two cancerous masses in her body. “One I was lucky enough to find; the other would have possibly killed me because I was too young for a mammogram,” she said.
“I was terrified of the physical changes,” she told JHud, adding that she was scared to tell her daughter what was happening with her. “How do I break this to her? How do I tell her Mommy isn’t feeling well?
Listen to JHud’s Valentine’s Day Playlist!
View Story“I was surprising her for her fifth birthday to Disney,” she said. “While we were out there, I just was like, ‘Can I show you something?’... I pulled my wig off, and she was floored, and she said, ‘You’re so beautiful.’ And then I knew that at that moment there was nothing for me to be afraid of.
“As you can see, my hair has come back,” she added, referencing her beautiful curly hair.
She said she was “devastated” at hearing the news but knew she had to gain the strength to fight. “I had to retrain my mind to tell myself, ‘Jamela, you got this.’ Once I felt confident, I was like, ‘I’m gonna do this,’ and I just put my gloves on and I handled it.”
“The power of a positive mind!” said JHud. “Mind over matter, as my mom used to say.”
She went through surgeries and multiple rounds of chemo with her daughter by her side. “She was my little bedside nurse,” she said. “She’s so helpful. She’s so mature.”
Jamela says she is now transitioning into survivorship — this means that she no longer needs active oncology and it’s a sign that she’s headed in the right direction.
Because Jamela loves to travel with her daughter, JHud surprised her with a six-day, five-night stay at Garza Blanca resort in Cancun!
Jamela received a six-day, five-night stay for two people at Garza Blanca Resort & Spa in Cancun, where she’ll stay in an ocean-view suite and dine on gourmet cuisine while relaxing poolside!
Garza Blanca Resort & Spa is the newest, hottest, and most luxurious addition to TAFER Hotels & Resorts’ collection of sophisticated all-inclusive resorts on Mexico’s stunning beaches. Ideally located on a white sandy stretch of Playa Mujeres, Garza Blanca Cancun offers exquisite experiences from the moment you step into the lobby to the moment you check out of this paradise.
This luxurious resort in Cancun encompasses only the finest comforts, so you can enjoy a classy oceanfront stay in the Mexican Caribbean.
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs weekdays. Here’s when to watch in your area.
