From patient to practitioner: South Jersey student beats cancer while earning medical degree

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- File this diagnosis under determination: a South Jersey college student defied the odds by battling cancer while pursuing her medical degree.

And with her sights set on oncology, she's poised to redefine resilience in the field she once fought against.

"Hearing the words legion and masses, I broke down and cried," said Keri Cronin.

Cronin knew those words meant cancer.

It was spring 2021 when she learned she had stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She didn't know if she would finish her studies at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, let alone survive.

She had six cycles of in-patient chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Cronin finished her second year of med school in a wheelchair and took a year-long leave to recover.

Cancer-free since July 2021, it took more than seven months for her to receive medical clearance to walk, but three years to the day of her cancer diagnosis, she finished the Broad Street Run.

And as she prepares to graduate, she's proving cancer wasn't a setback, but a setup to use her experience to help heal others.

"After everything that happened, I wanted to be an oncologist and I wanted to be the best oncologist because it's such a vulnerable population, the cancer population," she said. "I hopefully will be making a difference and helping people like myself through this journey."

Cronin graduated on Thursday and will begin her residency in New York at Mount Sinai Morningside.