‘The world is ending’: Rockford woman diagnosed with three cancers, the first on 9/11

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Jacqueline Hawkins, a Rockford resident, has survived lung, kidney, and breast cancer over the past two decades.

Hawkins was first diagnosed with lung cancer on September 11, 2001, a day marked by tragedy across the nation. Since then, she has faced and overcome kidney cancer a year ago and breast cancer in 2020.

“One doctor called me, and this was after a biopsy, and he said, ‘You definitely have lung cancer.’ And so this is 9/11 and towers were falling, people were falling out of the sky. I hung up and I said, ‘The world is ending,'” Hawkins recalled.

She beat lung cancer only to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, and kidney cancer last year.

Despite the challenges, she remains resilient. “That’s my life. I’m always in the middle of catastrophe. We have to keep going, you know? I mean, I can’t change, even though I don’t want to face it, you know? I have to face it, so I have to fight!” she said.

Hawkins attributes her strength to her faith, which she says is crucial in her journey.

“Your faith has to be in line because there’s no way of getting around it. Your family can’t support you 24/7, so you have to have that faith,” she explained.

Reflecting on her experience, Hawkins expressed a desire to help others. “We’re all going to leave this earth. But my time hasn’t come yet. God has me here for a reason. And if it’s something that I say today or tomorrow, or that would help someone, that’s what I want to do. Don’t give up. Don’t give up,” she urged.

Hawkins’ story of survival and resilience serves as an inspiration during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, reminding others of the importance of faith and perseverance in the face of adversity.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.