Jim O’Brien: Pushing the Envelope
A lifelong New York Islanders fan and two-time bone marrow transplant recipient, Jim O’Brien’s story is a testament to cancer research and the work of the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association Hockey Fights Cancer™ initiative. He benefited from advancements in treatment options during his journey with cancer, and hockey continued to inspire him while going through treatment. Today, he’s passionate about continuing to push the envelope forward and accelerating research.
Jim’s Cancer Journey
After weeks of not feeling well in 2019, Jim went to a local family doctor. The doctor was unsure what was going on, leading to bloodwork and x-rays. He was called back into the office a few days later and was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the young age of 24.
“My whole life was upended in a matter of seconds,” Jim said. “I knew I didn’t have too much time to mope, so I remember asking what I needed to get done and who I needed to go see. I needed to tackle this as quickly as I could.”
He underwent chemotherapy, but after further testing, his doctors told him that he was at a high risk of relapsing with just chemotherapy alone, suggesting a bone marrow transplant.
Jim’s first bone marrow transplant was in February 2020, but the transplant process had some complications. In the fall of 2020, he relapsed, and his cancer returned. He describes it as the scariest phase of his cancer treatment.
For his next steps, there were questions on whether he should do another transplant. He ended up seeking other opinions as well and ended up spending nine months in Houston at MD Anderson in 2021. He did treatments in the spring before having another bone marrow transplant on August 23, 2021.
The transplant was very successful, and Jim has been home in New York ever since.
Research Changes the Game
Jim saw the importance of new research within his own journey. When he relapsed, the immunotherapy he received was a drug that was recently approved by the FDA in 2017. It helped Jim tremendously.
“It was basically a magic bullet for me,” Jim said. “It put me right back into remission after I had such a hard time getting back in it the first time. It’s a testament to why funding cancer research is so important and trying out new drugs and clinical trials.”
Now, Jim is passionate about supporting cancer research, expanding the bone marrow registry, and spurring game-changing breakthroughs and new treatment options, like the one he was offered.
“I was very lucky I had doctors that don’t rest on their laurels and try to keep innovating. You need people that are willing to take calculated risks. It’s really important because if you don’t push the envelope and if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. That’s just the way cancer goes. Hopefully we will get to a point where if we keep innovating, we can end it.”
Hockey: An Escape Turned Full Circle
Jim remembers watching New York Islanders games while he was receiving treatment in Houston. It was one of the few things that felt “normal” while 1,600 miles away from home. The games, and the Islanders’ run to the Stanley Cup Semifinals, provided a mental escape from what he was going through.
“I never felt sick when I was watching those games, it was magical,” Jim said. “Sometimes I didn’t even remember the fact that I was sick. The only times I remembered I was sick while watching was when I would take off my hat and rub my bald head.”
Fast forward just over two years later, and the Islanders played another pivotal role in Jim’s cancer journey. This time it was to honor his lifesaving bone marrow transplant match.
In November 2023, the Islanders hosted Jim, his stem cell donor Alissa, an intensive care nurse from Iowa, and their families for a game and for the opportunity for them to meet for the first time. Jim and Alissa had connected previously but had never met before. It was at that game that Jim shared the news with her that his tests were clean and he was doing well. Hockey had been an escape for Jim, but now it was the setting of a celebration.
To Jim, the work that the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association and the V Foundation are doing through Hockey Fights Cancer™ is a testament to teamwork and coming together for a common goal: Victory Over Cancer®.
“We can put the colors on the jersey aside and know there are these people that have been dealt a frankly crappy hand, and we have to do what we can to make sure that these people get the chance to put this behind them or manage their disease to a point where they can go back to living an extraordinary life.”
“We can collectively agree that we should be giving this our attention, and that we should be supporting those people going through it. We should be supporting the doctors, nurses, technicians, and everybody else, top to bottom, who are helping these people in their fight. I think Hockey Fights Cancer™ really champions that sense of community. If you’re going through a cancer diagnosis, you don’t have to go through it alone. There’s a lot of people in your corner.”
