What a difference a year makes.
Last holiday season, Nancy Major-Jaeck was newly widowed and nearly died herself. At one point, her family was told she wouldn't make it.
"It was not a bright future for me," she reflected.
Major-Jaeck grew up in Omaha in a large, loving and faithful family.
"Prayer is so important to me. It is what pulled me through everything that I've been through," she explained.
Everything. She suffered a terrible fall which required hospitalization. Then, she lost her husband, Bob, while she was in the hospital. Then, doctors raised new concerns about Nancy's health. Ultimately, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. One right on top of the other.
"I didn't know what to do. I'm like, 'Here I am. This is what's happening to me. But, you know what? I'm gonna fight every way I can,'" she said.
Though, things would get worse before they'd get better.
"I could hear, but I could not talk and I couldn't open my eyes," she shared.
It's something 3 News Now spoke to Major-Jaeck's doctor, Julie Vose of Nebraska Medicine hematology and medical oncology, about.
"She was so sick. I'm surprised she even remembers some of that - she was so ill when she was first diagnosed and through the first couple months, really, of her treatment. For her to come this far - to go through all those difficult treatments she had to go through."
Dr. Vose used CAR T cell therapy, which is highly specialized. Chemotherapy hadn't worked for Major-Jaeck, which made her a candidate for CAR T. The therapy would essentially re-educate a type of white blood cell so it could fight the lymphoma. This approach has only been available for a few years.
"We were lucky we participated in some of the original trials, so we've been doing it longer," Vose explained.
For Major-Jaeck, after six months in the hospital, she is home and grateful for the little things like standing in her own kitchen.
"I want to just enjoy every minute. I take nothing for granted," she said with a smile.
Her resilience is undeniable. And though life brings challenges beyond cancer, Major-Jaeck's message feels universal.
"Just keep positive. Just keep moving forward because you don't know what the future brings."