How a friend's dog helped Clarke's Rebecca Palumbo beat cancer and return for field hockey season

Clarke High School field hockey player Rebecca Palumbo owes it all to an Australian Shepherd.

Palumbo was planning for a busy weekend earlier this year by celebrating her friend's Sweet 16 with a party on Friday and a brunch and bowling on Sunday.

But something wasn't quite right. She started to feel a strange pain in her stomach. That's when Willow, her friend's Australian Shepherd, stepped in.

“I was at my friend’s house waiting to go bowling later that night, and my stomach started to hurt,” she said. “Her dog stepped on my stomach and it hurt really bad, to the point where I couldn’t go down the stairs without stomach pain.”

Palumbo went to the doctor the next day. She immediately was sent to the hospital with the fear that it was appendicitis.

“They sent me in for an MRI and a sonogram,” she said. “Then they sent me back in for a second MRI because they said they needed a closer look. I could tell something was up.”

Her father, Joe Palumbo, said he also knew something was wrong.

“I remember the doctors weren’t looking me in the eye,” Joe Palumbo said.

The MRI revealed a large tumor on her right ovary. Doctors performed surgery to remove the tumor and perform tests. Just a few days later, on Jan. 15, 2024, Palumbo officially was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, affects about 80,620 people a year in the United States.

“To be completely honest, my first reaction was death,” said Rebecca Palumbo, who turned 17 on Wednesday. “I was scared. I didn’t know how bad it was.”

“Hearing that was absolutely crushing,” her father said. “But if that dog didn’t jump on her, this conversation could have been different."

Aggressive treatment

Since this type of cancer tends to spread rapidly, Rebecca Palumbo underwent a second surgery on Jan. 23. Her right ovary and her appendix, two of the three affected organs, were removed.

“Rebecca was literally on the operating table and the doctors gave me the option of removing the left ovary because it also had cancer in it,” Joe Palumbo said. “I didn’t want them to remove it; I knew we could fight it.”

The Palumbo family opted for chemotherapy to fight the cancer in Rebecca's left ovary. Her first of six rounds of chemo began on Jan. 29.

“Going through chemo was really difficult,” she said. “It was really mentally challenging watching yourself weaken. I was also missing out on doing things with friends and playing field hockey.”

According to Rebecca’s older brother, JJ Palumbo, his sister handled it all with courage and poise.

“You would never be able to tell,” JJ Palumbo said. “She was sick, but she always had a smile on her face.”

Because she was spending so much time in the hospital, the Palumbo family decided to reclass Rebecca so she could experience a full junior year.

“I didn’t want her to miss out on all the things that come with high school,” Joe Palumbo said. “I didn’t want her to try and commit and then feel behind."

Then on April 5, the news the Palumbo family had been waiting for since the diagnosis finally came.

“I’ll never forget the moment. It was the day of the earthquake,” Rebecca Palumbo said. “I was with one of my best friends in the Starbucks line when I got a call from my doctor. He said, ‘Congratulations, you’re cancer free.' It was the best news of my life.”

“There’s really no way to describe the feeling of hearing your daughter is cancer-free,” Joe Palumbo said. “The first thing she said to me was ‘Dad, I want to play.’ ”

The tough road back

The only thing on Rebecca Palumbo’s mind was getting back on that field in time for this season. Weakened from the chemo, the next few months were all about training and regaining her strength. Her father, a certified trainer, was ready to help get her there.

“I mean, she’s tough, but it had beaten her body up,” he said. “The biggest thing on my mind was time. How much time do I have to get her to where she needs to be.”

On her first day back in the gym, it was clear that it wouldn’t be an easy road ahead. Rebecca Palumbo had set the goal for a 30-minute workout. She lasted only eight minutes.

"Those eight minutes were such a struggle," Rebecca said. "It was hard seeing how much of a toll this had taken on my body." 

“I remember looking at her and my heart was just breaking,” Joe Palumbo said. “You’re looking at a kid who was such a good athlete, and now, I was looking at her like how do I fix this?"

Rebecca was willing to do anything to get there, sometimes training twice a day. She’d work with her father and Clarke High School field hockey coach Brittany Dougher. Rebecca would even go to the field alone.

“I wanted to prove everyone wrong,” Rebecca Palumbo said. “For me, it was I will be ready in time and I will be back stronger.”

All of her hard work paid off. She took the field for Clarke’s first game on Sept. 4 and was able to play the entire game.

“She had spoken about being concerned about lasting for the game,” Dougher said. “But I knew after all the work she put in she’d be able to do it. There was never a doubt in my mind.”

"After hearing that last whistle, I felt so relieved," Rebecca Palumbo said. "I finally realized that everything I did was enough."

Rebecca Palumbo started every game this season, picking up a pair of assists, and helped her team advance to the Nassau Class B semifinals.

“She’s an inspiration to me,” Joe Palumbo said. “There are times when I don’t want to go to the gym or I don’t want to do something, but then I remember those late nights when Rebecca would go and train even when she was tired and beat up. She just kept on competing."

When Rebecca reflects on the last year, she thinks about the lessons her cancer journey has taught her. And a certain four-legged friend.

"I'm honestly so thankful Willow jumped on me that day, because if it didn't, I would've kept going with this tumor inside of me," she said. "God was looking out for me. It felt like a sign."