Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Nursing grad overcomes the odds
In 2020, Jimena Zuniga was given three months to live. Five years later, she’s graduating with her Nursing degree and helping others.
Jimena Malta Zuniga started at Metropolitan State University of Denver in fall of 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was already a topsy-turvy time for the 17-year-old, originally from Honduras, trying to build connection as a first-generation student forced by COVID to learn in a virtual environment. Then came the diagnosis: terminal cancer. She was given three months to live.
“It was like having a bucket of ice dumped on me,” she said. “I wasn’t sick before that; it was nothing I’d expected.”
In many ways, however, her story was just beginning: This month, Malta will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a 3.9 GPA, choosing to live each day to its fullest and maximizing the goodness in each.
That proved not only to be an effective approach to overcoming the odds of her initial prognosis, but also a calling that to a larger mission — and the importance of personal connection in the healing process.
“I remember my nurse just grabbing my hand after they told me,” Malta said. “I think that’s all I needed at that moment. She didn’t have to say anything — just being there was enough.”
That flash of compassion ignited a spark. Malta threw herself into nursing studies to better understand what was going on within her own body and to be that rock for others. She recalled doing homework during her chemotherapy sessions, and the empathy and flexibility of faculty members such as Nursing Professor Mallory Brunel, which helped keep her going during difficult stretches.
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“School became my pause from hospital life; studying gave me space to think, reminding me that I’m doing this to heal.”
“Every treatment, every late night of studying, every volunteer hour has been a deliberate step toward creating a story of purpose, resilience and impact.”
Receiving her degree is a testament to those very characteristics five years after that initial diagnosis. And Malta’s not done yet: Inspired by the resilience of children she’s been able to work with during her studies and propelled by her own experience, she has her eyes on becoming a pediatric oncology nurse.
“I just love kids; they have special superpowers,” she said.
Malta would know. While her cancer treatment is continuing, the heart she’s demonstrated so far is nothing short of extraordinary. And her commitment to heal herself while helping her community do the same is at the very core of what it means to be an MSU Denver graduate.
In various regalia and pageantry, the nursing profession is often depicted by an oil lamp, representing the care, compassion and commitment of the field; this dates to Florence Nightingale, who would carry it on nightly rounds to care for patients. It’s a fitting symbol, as the most remarkable part of Malta’s journey may be her ability to tend this light from within — then carry it forward to illuminate a path for others.
“Life can be hard, and it’s hard for everyone in different ways,” Malta said. “But it’s our choice to be mad about it, to be sad about it or to live a happy life … I just decided to choose a happy life and not to let that diagnosis define me.
“Challenges do not define our story, we do.”
Learn more about Nursing programs at MSU Denver.
