Julia Shatskaya is 27 years old. In 2014, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Thanks to her incredibly positive energy, she was able to go through a difficult path of treatment, defeat the disease and change her life paradigm. Today, Julia works as an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician, helping patients.
When Julia was still ill, she recorded the song "I will live,” and the creative team from a charity with an identical name shot a music video for this life-affirming track. The description below the video says: "This video affirms that illness is not the end of life or even a pause, but that difficult treatment and difficult trials can be treated with humor and interest."
Her story began back in 2013, when periodic episodes of fever began to bother her. At that time, Julia and her parents lived in the Kaliningrad region. The doctor who performed the routine fluorography was the first to raise concern. He referred Julia for additional examination. A CT scan revealed a conglomerate of lymph nodes. In conclusion, lymphoma was suspected. Julia and her parents urgently went to Moscow.
"We didn't know where to go or where to turn. After arriving in Moscow, we went to the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Center, where it was histologically confirmed that I had lymphoma and needed treatment. Like any patient, I searched for answers on the Internet and came across the group "I will live,” which described how people with an oncological diagnosis survived and lead fairly ordinary lives. I met Daria Arefyeva, explained my situation, and she introduced me to the beautiful Yana Konstantinovna Mangasarova, who led me through all 6 courses of chemotherapy," says Julia.
The chemotherapy helped. As Julia herself says, this was the end of her story with lymphoma. In October 2023, Julia visited Yana Konstantinovna, which was a real surprise for her doctor. It was no longer a conversation between a doctor and a patient. Now, they have common professional interests.
"Julia came to us in 2014. Before coming to us, she went through a year of what could be called “hell,” with weight loss and fever up to 38 degrees. She came to us in a rather serious condition. When our patients are diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, I always say that this is the best diagnosis among lymphoproliferative diseases. On the one hand, no matter how cruel it may sound, this disease mainly affects young patients. On the other hand, this allows us to implement modern highly effective chemotherapy courses, which we often cannot implement in elderly patients.”
Julia was 18 years old at the time of admission. And she took a very creative approach to treatment. She never gave up, she always came to chemotherapy courses with some incredible hats, made up, with a smile, with the huge support of her friends. And it was immediately felt that she believed in her victory and that everything would pass.
We immediately explained that Hodgkin's lymphoma is hemoblastosis, that it is an oncological disease, and that it would be necessary to undergo chemotherapy, following all recommendations. Julia received a fairly serious therapy protocol with chemotherapy ongoing for a week, with only a week given for rehabilitation. All this required strict observance of intervals. It is not easy for patients to live in such a "Non Stop” regiment in order to achieve remission. Julia did not give up, and thanks to her incredibly positive energy, she was able to defeat the disease and change the paradigm of her life, deciding to become an intensive care doctor. Now, we sometimes cross paths in medical fields. I think she will have great potential in life, and she will save patients as difficult as she once was.
What did you think about during treatment?
I was 18 years old, and I looked at it all with curiosity. I didn't think there could be any positive outcome. Probably, if I got sick now, having the medical knowledge I have now, I would not treat it as positively as I did back then. I think it helped me a lot, and it helped my parents even more. They were very worried. Only after several courses of chemotherapy, realizing that I was not dying now, well, yes, my hair fell out, I felt sick periodically, but we understood that we were on the mend. Only then did they come to their senses more or less. Because initially this news was very shocking for everyone and my mother was worried.
What supported you psychologically and morally?
My friends from the group "I will live" were with me throughout my treatment. These are Dasha Arefyeva, Masha Borodina, Gosha the cameraman, Pasha and Natasha Anisimova. The only thing I associate with that period are these people. I had some kind of activity all the time. I would come home after chemotherapy and think: so I'm going to feel bad tomorrow, I'm going to lie down, and then I have this… and this… and this… to do We were constantly going somewhere, filming something, doing something. It was one of the most eventful periods of my life. That’s probably why I was not discouraged, because I didn’t have time for it.
What has the hospital history taught you?
I can't say that it taught me anything and somehow changed my outlook on life. I don't even know. I can't say that the grass has become greener for me. It was green then, and it is still green now.
"Why me?" Many patients admit to asking themselves this question.
I don't really understand why my brain worked the way it did. I didn't have a grieving period at all. When I was diagnosed, I had a period of relief. That was the key, because I felt pretty bad, and it went on for a year. It took us a long time to figure out what was happening to me. The suspense was exhausting for both me and my parents. Everyone was throwing up their hands. And we're not doctors, we don't know anything. And when I was diagnosed, and I was admitted for treatment at the NMRC for Hematology, Yana Konstantinovna said: "Yes, it will be bad, you will have to be patient, but it is treatable!" That's why I didn't feel like a victim of circumstances. I thought, "Well, that's how it should be, and I'll get through it."
What influenced your choice of profession?
The impetus was my very involvement in medicine as a patient. I was considering a medical specialty in school, maybe 9th or 10th grade, but I thought: it's very hard, I can't pull it off. Then there was a situation with lymphoma and a close clash between me and medicine. And when I finished the treatment, I thought: And why not? If I don’t try, I won’t find out. And I began my studies at Sechenov Medical University. I studied there for six years, five of which I thought for sure that I would definitely specialize in hematology. Well, how could it be otherwise? At some point I realized that I was oversaturated with hematology in principle. I thought that I must close the chapter of that book and let it be closed with such pleasant and warm memories. I preferred anesthesiology – intensive care.
Why anesthesiology and intensive care?
It's not any easier. This is a different field. In hematology you can see the results of your efforts, the results of your prescribed treatment only after a fairly long period of time. And it won't always be something positive. You can treat a patient for a long time and after six months realize that his disease is progressing. My personal qualities took the leading role here. It is important for me to see the result of what I am doing. And in anesthesiology and in intensive care, the result is immediately visible.
How did you come up with the idea to record a music video and a song?
This idea did not even come to me, but to my godmother's daughter. She is quite a creative person. She said to me, "Julia, let's write a song! You're going to sing it, and it's going to be so cool!" And we, being in the country, literally wrote this song on our knees. Her husband played the guitar along with us. I went to Moscow and showed the text to the guys. They lit up and said: "Let's take it all down and record it!" And we really had a sound engineer, Natasha. She does vocals professionally, and we all recorded it together.
What is your wish for patients?
I can say that the treatment is unpleasant. It is really very painful and bad at times. Sometimes it seems that there is no strength at all to even get out of bed and lead some kind of normal life, but I think life is worth it. Life is put on hold to temporarily wait out such an unpleasant period, but after the pause you will be able to live the way you lived before the illness. And it's great that there's a chance at all, and in hematology there is!
