“Cancer is not a death sentence, but rather it is a life sentence; it pushes one to live.” — Marcia Smith
Leisa Zigman was an outstanding investigative news reporter and also an anchor at KSDK Channel 5.
It was 2008, Zigman found a lump on her groin. This discovery didn’t worry her that much. She ate healthy foods and exercised.
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However, over two years, the lump grew bigger.
One day, her trainer noticed the lump. He scolded her for not consulting a doctor, so she did.
Then, her worst fear came true. Her doctor held her hand and told her, ‘You have cancer.’
Leisa Zigman was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2010.
“Hearing the words ‘you have cancer’ was hard. Saying the words, ‘Mommy has cancer,’ was the hardest part of this journey, so far,” Zigman said to her interview with stljewishlight.
The hardest part was letting her kids and husband know.
It was a scary moment, but she wanted to live and fight. She agreed to undergo chemotherapy and she responded well.
Her family thought of ways to make her feel better and stronger. Zigman’s young son, Taylor, who was 13 at that time, loved music.
He sang the song, ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen at The Press Club, where Leisa Zigman won the 2012 Media Person of the Year.
But there was a twist. The talented boy rewrote the lyrics of the famous song.
His voice was amazing, but the song hits you differently.
It was a boy’s heart, speaking to his mother. How he, as a young boy, witnessed his mom’s struggles and how brave she was to fight her battle.
He was there. He knew his mother was struggling.
The song was beautiful and full of touching words. It was full of love admiration.
November 1st, 2010
A day I don’t want to relive again
The feeling of a shock that goes right through you
Your mom is sick. It will be okay
We’re gonna take this one day by day
The one thing you can do is pray, Hallelujah
It also talks about the hope that they held on. Having a loved one diagnosed with cancer is hard.
The treatment course was hard, I know
But you didn’t let it get you low
You went in, and you held it together
Your faith was strong, you seized the day
You touched the stars. This will be okay
The one thing we can do is pray, Hallelujah
For years, Taylor and his family held on to hope and prayers. They were together and that was one of the things that made it possible for Zigman to be strong.
You rang the bell, we were standing there
The joy we felt was strange and rare
It’s amazing how the feeling goes right through you
My mom’s okay, I’ll seize the day
I hope that it would stay this way
The one thing we can do is pray, Hallelujah
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After years of treatment, Zigman finally rang the bell. It meant that her cancer treatment had ended.
After Taylor sang, everyone was teary-eyed. They applauded him, and the sweet young boy went to his mom.
“Just one more thing, don’t stop believing,” Taylor said to his mom.
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Unfortunately, her cancer returned, but Zigman was a strong woman. She again won the battle and had since been in remission.
She has since dedicated her life to helping and supporting cancer patients.
Today, Zigman is living her life to the fullest, and as for our sweet boy, you might have been seeing him lately in TikTok. He’s a famous artist and even has 1.2M followers.
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You can also follow him on his Instagram account.
Watch Taylor’s beautiful song below, and don’t forget to share this with your friends.
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