Navy Veteran, Cancer Survivor, and Actress
- “Stranger Things” actress Jennifer Marshall, 44, is a military veteran turned cancer survivor. Her cancer journey started with a seemingly harmless spot on her foot—initially mistaken for a bug bite—but it turned out to be stage 3 melanoma.
- While undergoing grueling cancer treatment, she continued her acting roles until she reached remission.
- “I went through 14 months of treatment. I had infusions every 3 weeks, and I had CT scans every 3 months. And so now I’m on CT scans every six months to ensure that I’m still in remission,” Marshall explained.
- Melanoma is considered one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer because of its ability to spread to other parts of the body. It starts in the cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. The cells change, which allows them to spread to other organs.
- “Patients at risk are patients who are fair-skinned, with blond hair and blue eyes, patients who may have a family history of melanoma, or patients who have what we call dysplastic nevus syndrome, who are just covered in thousands and thousands of moles,” Medical oncologist, Dr. Anna Pavlick, explains.
- Dr. Cecilia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recommends looking at your skin once a month for anything suspicious. The most important thing to look out for when finding melanoma in its early stages is a new spot on your skin or a spot changing in size, shape, or color.
Marshall is also a cancer survivor. In 2021, she took a year-long break from acting after receiving a skin cancer diagnosis.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram“For a cancer survivor, there are two parts to your life—before cancer and after,” she shared in an Instagram post. “The gym has been the place I work out to relieve anxiety and stay healthy for my kids.”
Her resilience resonates deeply within both the veteran and cancer communities. As the nation honors its service members, Marshall stands as a beacon of hope—proof that strength can be enduring.
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Before her breakout role in “Stranger Things” in 2017, Marshall spent nearly two decades building her acting career, often portraying military characters that reflect her own service. She first appeared on the History Channel in 2005 as an injured soldier, and her roles since have often drawn from her time in uniform.
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From 1998 to 2003, Marshall served as an aircraft handler and aviation logistics specialist in the Navy, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Marshall served on the USS Roosevelt. “It was a wartime deployment, so it wasn’t as awesome as it could have been, you know, limited ports and whatnot, but I joined the Navy, see the world,” she explained.
An Unexpected Diagnosis
Marshall’s cancer journey began after she noticed her hair was thinning. She went to see her dermatologist, who suggested that she undergo a full-body scan.
“During the full body scan, I mentioned a spot on my foot that itched a little bit and seemed to have a small, hard nodule underneath. At the time, I had chalked it up to a bug bite,” Marshall explained.
However, the spot was no bug bite. Further tests revealed it was a stage one melanoma on her foot.
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Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs. You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed skin areas like your face, neck, arms, and legs. However, areas with little to no sun exposure may also get melanoma, such as your palms, feet, eyes, mouth, or under your nails.
“The surgeon called me. He explained that due to the location of the cancer, he may have to take tissue from my thigh to use as a skin graft. I jokingly told him to take the fat from my right thigh, as it was slightly fatter. I think my humor was unsettling to him, but I couldn’t help it. I was facing the big ‘C,’ and instead of sorrow, I chose humor,” Marshall said.
She prepared for surgery in early January 2021. However, just before the procedure, she learned her cancer was more advanced than previously thought and was in stage 3.
“When he gently revealed that it had spread, the sounds around me became muffled, everything seemed to move in slow motion, and I experienced tunnel vision. I gasped and choked out, “But you said…you said that there was only a 3 percent chance.” He offered a slight pause and replied, “I’m so sorry, Jennifer. You’re my three percenter,” Marshall said.
With the thought of her children and husband in mind, she prepared herself for more than a year of cancer treatment.
“The next 15 months were grueling. There is no other word to explain it. Every cancer survivor reading this is probably nodding their head in agreement,” she said.
“I had infusions every 3 weeks, and I had CT scans every 3 months. And so now I’m on CT scans every six months to ensure that I’m still in remission,” Marshall explained on the American Grit Podcast.
Last year, Marshall said she was “incredibly blessed” to have survived cancer and be in remission. “For a time, I wasn’t sure if I would have made it to 43,” Marshall added in a Facebook post.
A Willingness to Work During Cancer Treatment
“I feared losing acting opportunities and not being able to pay my mortgage. During all this, I was in the middle of shooting season four of Stranger Things. When I showed up to shoot, a few people subtly commented about how much weight I had lost, not realizing the reason why,” Marshall said.
Fortunately for Marshall, although cancer treatment was a grueling experience, her castmates and production crew were completely understanding and willing to make her life easier in any way they could.
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“I gave my shooting availability around my scans, treatment, and how I was feeling. My loving and wonderful makeup artist, Diahann, covered up my hives with makeup. My crew allowed me to doze between setups. They consistently checked in with me to make sure I felt okay and provided transportation to and from Burbank shoots because I was too fatigued to safely drive,” Marshall explained.
When she experienced hair loss during treatment, she wore a wig.
“Many people stop working or can’t work during treatment, and I completely understand why. One thing they don’t often tell you about treatment? The side effects,” Marshall lamented.
WATCH: Will my cancer get me fired?
“We always encourage people to continue to work if they can,” says Sarah Stapleton, a clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center.
“I think it creates a sense of normalcy for patients.”
Stapleton adds that if you’re able to work, you’ll be busy, and you may not worry all the time about how your treatment is going.
Sometimes, cancer can make you feel isolated and lonely, and being around people for work can alleviate feelings of loneliness.
It’s important to talk with your doctor before continuing to work during treatment. Ask your physician what you can and cannot do to avoid disrupting ongoing treatment.
Remember, sometimes cancer treatment can cause fatigue, leaving you unable to fulfill your duties as you once could.
Fortunately, some on-the-job accommodations can make working during cancer treatment a little easier.
Laurie Ostacher, a behavioral health clinician at Stanford Health Care, recommends cancer patients talk with their employer about accommodations they may need upon returning to work.
“Patients need to let their employer know [they’re] going to need some flexibility… Because there are going to be days when you’re not as energetic or feeling as well as other days,” Ostacher explained.
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Helpful Resources on Treating Skin Cancer
- New Blood Test Can Quickly Determine How Well Aggressive Skin Cancer Treatment is Working
- Treatment For Basal Cell Carcinoma: Mohs Surgery Removes This Skin Cancer With Smaller Incisions and More Certainty
- ‘A Game Changer’: New Combination Immunotherapy for Advanced Melanoma Offers More Options For Patients
- A Biopsy of Your Mole Doesn’t Mean You Have Melanoma
- A Melanoma Vaccine for Metastatic Patients
- Am I at High Risk for Melanoma?
Understanding Melanomas
Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma, according to SurvivorNet’s experts. You’ll want to watch them and tell your doctor about any changes you notice.
WATCH: How do you perform a skin check using the ABCDEs?
SurvivorNet experts recommend avoiding unprotected sun exposure because ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to melanoma. Tanning beds pose ultraviolet radiation risks for skin cancer and should be avoided. Many dermatologists recommend using spray tans to reduce the risk of melanoma skin cancer.
The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a new spot on your skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color, SurvivorNet’s medical experts say.
Treatment options for melanoma include targeted therapy and immunotherapy, which give people a better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before. If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery will be the treatment your doctor recommends. Cancer removal usually leads to a cure in the early stages of the disease. After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes are examined to measure the melanoma and determine if it has clear margins. Clear margins mean the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma. When no cancer cells are left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to return.
For melanoma patients who need additional treatment after surgery, they are likely to receive adjuvant therapy (treatments administered after surgery). Adjuvant therapy is designed to improve outcomes and decrease the risk of recurrence.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, you may have some questions for your doctor. SurvivorNet suggests the following to help you on your cancer journey.
- What type of skin cancer do I have?
- What treatment options exist for my type of melanoma?
- Will insurance cover this treatment?
- Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense for me?
- What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
