{"id":3831,"date":"2026-09-28T20:17:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=3831"},"modified":"2026-09-28T20:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:17:50","slug":"ashley-park-says-blood-donors-saved-her-life-during-cancer-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=3831","title":{"rendered":"Ashley Park Says Blood Donors Saved Her Life During Cancer Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAshley Park is looking back on her teenage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/tags\/cancer\/\" id=\"auto-tag_cancer\" data-tag=\"cancer\">cancer<\/a> diagnosis and expressing gratitude for the anonymous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/health-and-wellness\/articles\/1137744\/winter-storm-blood-shortage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donors<\/a> who kept her alive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe <em>Emily in Paris<\/em> actress was 15 years old when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) \u2014 a fast-growing cancer that starts in the bone marrow and moves into the blood, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/types\/acute-myeloid-leukemia\/about\/what-is-aml.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">American Cancer Society<\/a>. Her recovery involved nearly a year of inpatient care in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and received daily blood and platelet transfusions.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-related-links \/\/ lrv-u-padding-a-050 a-background-color-body-inset-b-2@mobile-max\">\n\t<!-- disable-pmc_link_tags_to_related_posts-starts --><\/p>\n<article class=\"o-card a-background-color-body-offset-tl-n1@tablet lrv-u-padding-lr-1 lrv-u-padding-b-1 u-padding-a-1@tablet lrv-u-margin-t-1 lrv-u-border-a-1 lrv-u-border-color-brand-secondary\">\n<p>\t\t\t<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/entertainment\/articles\/1235078767\/heather-matarazzo-hollywood-health-insurance-crisis\/\" class=\"lrv-u-flex@tablet\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-display-none@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-4x3 u-width-125@tablet\" style=\"\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-sheknows-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Princess_Diaries_The-008.jpg?w=150&amp;h=150&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"the princess diaries Heather Matarazzo, Anne Hathaway, Mandy Moore\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"\" width=\"\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content u-margin-l-1@tablet\">\n<p><span class=\"c-span  u-letter-spacing-015 lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase a-font-secondary-bold-s lrv-u-font-size-14 lrv-u-margin-t-050 lrv-u-margin-t-1@desktop lrv-u-margin-b-025 u-margin-tb-00@tablet lrv-u-display-block\"><\/p>\n<p>\tRelated story<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-title  a-font-secondary-medium-s@mobile-max a-font-primary-xs@tablet lrv-u-line-height-normal lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-margin-b-1 u-margin-t-050@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-025 lrv-u-color-brand-primary:hover\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tThe Princess Diaries Star Reveals the Harsh Reality Facing Hollywood Actors Right Now\t\t<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p>\t<!-- disable-pmc_link_tags_to_related_posts-ends --><br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cMy treatment called for really all of your cells being killed within your body, including the cancer cells,\u201d Park told <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ashley-park-recalls-life-saving-blood-transfusions-after-cancer-diagnosis-at-15-12140718\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><em>People<\/em><\/a>. \u201cSo really the only way to rebuild my body was through blood donations.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-accent-l   \">\n\t\tOvercoming Isolation Through Community Support\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tPark spent eight months stuck in an isolated hospital room away from her friends. Looking back, she realized those daily blood donations were her only real link to the outside world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cI was really isolated for about eight months,\u201d she told the outlet. \u201cBut I realized my only interaction with other people was through blood transfusions,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people in the Ann Arbor local community who gave me their blood, and I can say very tangibly, I wouldn\u2019t be here today if it had not been for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-accent-l   \">\n\t\tTackling the National Blood Shortage\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNow 35, the University of Michigan graduate is using her platform to address the national blood shortage. She teamed up with healthcare company Abbott and the Big Ten Conference for the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/abbott-wegb.vercel.app\/abbott\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">We Give Blood<\/a>\u201d campaign, a college competition challenging 18 universities to rally the most blood donations to win a $1 million grant for student health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tPark pointed out that 25 percent of current blood donors are over 65, which is why she wants to help build a younger donor base. She hopes sharing her story will encourage college students to give blood and support patients currently going through treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cI think everybody has been affected in some way, if not personally, by cancer or critical illnesses,\u201d Park said. \u201cUnderstanding that people took 10 minutes out of their day just to give part of themselves to me, even if they would never know that it came to me\u2026 it means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/health-and-wellness\/articles\/1235079002\/ashley-park-cancer-blood-donors\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashley Park is looking back on her teenage cancer diagnosis and expressing gratitude for the anonymous donors who kept her alive. The Emily in Paris actress was 15 years old when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) \u2014 a fast-growing cancer that starts in the bone marrow and moves into the blood, according to the American Cancer Society. Her recovery involved nearly a year of inpatient care in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and received daily blood and platelet transfusions. Related story The Princess Diaries Star Reveals the Harsh Reality Facing Hollywood Actors Right Now \u201cMy treatment called for really all of your cells being killed within your body, including the cancer cells,\u201d Park told People. \u201cSo really the only way to rebuild my body was through blood donations.\u201d Overcoming Isolation Through Community Support Park spent eight months stuck in an isolated hospital room away from her friends. Looking back, she realized those daily blood donations were her only real link to the outside world. \u201cI was really isolated for about eight months,\u201d she told the outlet. \u201cBut I realized my only interaction with other people was through blood transfusions,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people in the Ann Arbor local community who gave me their blood, and I can say very tangibly, I wouldn\u2019t be here today if it had not been for them.\u201d Tackling the National Blood Shortage Now 35, the University of Michigan graduate is using her platform to address the national blood shortage. She teamed up with healthcare company Abbott and the Big Ten Conference for the \u201cWe Give Blood\u201d campaign, a college competition challenging 18 universities to rally the most blood donations to win a $1 million grant for student health. Park pointed out that 25 percent of current blood donors are over 65, which is why she wants to help build a younger donor base. She hopes sharing her story will encourage college students to give blood and support patients currently going through treatment. \u201cI think everybody has been affected in some way, if not personally, by cancer or critical illnesses,\u201d Park said. \u201cUnderstanding that people took 10 minutes out of their day just to give part of themselves to me, even if they would never know that it came to me\u2026 it means a lot to me.\u201d Source link<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-female-health-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}