How This 27-Year-Old Fought COVID-19 and Cancer at the Same Time

From Prevention

• Eliza Paris, a 27-year-old who was working and living in New York City, tested positive for COVID-19 while fighting metastatic appendix cancer.

• Once she was hospitalized, Paris spent eight days in a vacuum-sealed room with zero human contact except for her doctors and nurses.

• Now that she has recovered from COVID-19, she plans to return to New York to continue her scheduled chemotherapy treatments.

When COVID-19 cases started to spike in the United States, Eliza Paris—who’s immunocompromised due to her ongoing battle with metastatic appendix cancer—decided to pause chemotherapy treatments. She was living and working in New York City (the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.), so it seemed like a good idea to return home to Atlanta to self-isolate. A month after arriving, she was rushed to the hospital with an E.coli infection, sepsis, kidney failure, and yes, symptoms of COVID-19.

After a few days, a test confirmed that Eliza was positive for the virus. “When this happened, this was our absolute worst fears realized,” her father, Trey Paris, told the Marietta Daily Journal. And it was even more heartbreaking that they couldn’t be by her side.

“The toughest thing was not being able to be there. ... Her having to be in that room alone was really tough for us,” Eliza’s brother, Thomas Paris, added. She of course wanted to see her family, but was confident in her ability to conquer this illness alone.

“I felt more for my family than for myself, because I knew that I was OK, but convincing them that I was OK was hard,” Eliza said. “But I thought to myself, ‘If I can beat cancer, I can beat [COVID-19].’”

She spent eight days in a loud, vacuum-sealed room, with zero human contact except for her doctors and nurses, who were there to help her in any way they could. After a few days, she was able to at least FaceTime her family to keep them updated on her condition.

“I think she is a very special girl ... and she’s gone through lots of things,” Dr. Ashenafi Tassew, who helped care for Eliza, told the paper. “Every day, despite her pain—she was dealing with significant pain, significant cough from the COVID—you could see the difference every day.”

Eliza returned home on the Saturday before Easter, but continued to self-isolate in her room for seven more days until she was cleared by her oncologist to roam the house. Now, a month after being admitted for COVID-19, she plans to return to New York to continue her scheduled chemotherapy treatments.

NBC’s Craig Melvin interviewed her on Today, and asked if she was nervous about going back. “I’m so confident in Sloan Kettering and the precautions that are being taken,” she said. “Everyone’s masked, everyone’s fever is being checked. I talk to my oncologist on a daily basis, and it just seems like they have the routine down. I trust them more than anyone so I’m ready to get back to fighting cancer after fighting COVID.”

How does she remain so optimistic, you might ask? It’s all about her life’s experiences. “I think once you’ve gone through what I’ve been through, you have a new perspective on life,” she told Melvin. “And you’re just so grateful for every day. And the days that you feel well, you just want to tackle the day … and I try to just continue to be a normal 27-year-old. I work full-time. I love living in New York City. I love being with friends and family. You just kind of have to push through.”

Support from readers like you helps us do our best work. Go here to subscribe to Prevention and get 12 FREE gifts. And sign up for our FREE newsletter here for daily health, nutrition, and fitness advice.

You Might Also Like

• The Best Yoga Mats, According to Top Yoga Instructors

• The Shockingly Simple Diet Change This Woman Made to Drop 54 Pounds

• Losing Stubborn Belly Fat Really Comes Down to These Two Lifestyle Changes