Seal Beach resident who survived breast cancer dies from leukemia

Jennifer Lynn Chow was a combatant until her past breath.

It’s hard to ideate what she endured during the past 3 years: Breast cancer. A treble mastectomy. Reconstructive surgery. Months of chemotherapy and radiation.

And conscionable erstwhile she had beaten that cancer, a caller 1 revealed itself: acute myeloid leukemia. Another combat followed, 1 marked by humor transfusions and much chemotherapy arsenic the Seal Beach nonmigratory prepared for a stem compartment transplant that mightiness person saved her life.

But the transplant ne'er came.

Through it all, she ever remained optimistic and ne'er gave up hope. But her assemblage could lone instrumentality truthful overmuch and, astatine the far-too-young property of 44, she died earlier this period astatine the City of Hope Hospital successful Duarte.

“She fought truthful hard to enactment live for her household until her past breath,” her husband, LAPD Deputy Chief Blake Chow, said this week. “She was the bravest idiosyncratic I’ve ever known. She was an inspiration for america each successful wellness and sickness.”

Outpourings of condolences person been sent to him, including ones from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles City Council members.

“Everybody who knew Jen loved her,” her hubby said.

A solemnisation of beingness successful Chow’s grant is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 3 astatine Eisenhower Park successful Seal Beach.

A GoFundMe relationship has besides been acceptable up successful her name. Because of her illnesses, Chow was incapable to get beingness insurance, her hubby said.

“We are raising funds for her kids’ assemblage funds truthful they tin be the colleges of their choices,” Chow’s widower said. “Any enactment for the household would beryllium greatly appreciated.”

In April, Chow’s friend, Long Beach nonmigratory Jennifer Davis, partnered with the Be The Match enactment to acceptable up a feature swab drive-thru event to find a stem compartment donor for Chow portion she was being treated astatine UCLA Medical Center.

But, successful a uncommon changeable of bully fortune, a lucifer was recovered conscionable earlier the event. The find ended a hunt that had started earlier among the much than 20 cardinal imaginable humor stem compartment donors listed successful the Be The Match’s registry. The feature swab drive-thru event, successful Long Beach, inactive happened, truthful Be The Match could proceed expanding its registry.

“It’s a miracle,” Chow said astatine the time, successful her emblematic outgoing mode from her location successful Seal Beach.

She transferred to the City of Hope Hospital and had a transplant scheduled for this month.

But an corruption delayed that and she died earlier the transplant could beryllium performed.

Jennifer Chow was calved Jennifer Balentine connected March 21, 1977, successful New Pekin, Indiana, a tiny municipality successful southeastern Indiana. Her begetter was a mechanic and her parent owned a edifice there.

She went to simple and precocious schoolhouse successful New Pekin earlier graduating from Indiana University Southeast successful New Albany.

She moved to Southern California successful the precocious 1990s.

Chow was archetypal diagnosed with bosom crab successful March 2019 arsenic she was astir to observe her 42nd birthday.

“I felt thing successful my bosom and decided to spot my doctor,” she said successful April. “I had a mammogram and it showed I had Stage 3C cancer. It was dilatory growing. If it had been much aggressive, I wouldn’t beryllium here.”

She had a treble mastectomy. Then 4 months of chemotherapy, 25 radiation treatments and reconstructive surgery. Before the chemotherapy, she shaved her caput and wore wigs.

The country and treatment, she said, were “brutal but successful.”

That’s erstwhile she thought her conflict with crab was implicit and her beingness would instrumentality to normal.

She joined Blake Chow, who has 3 children from a erstwhile matrimony — Andrew, Nick and Thea — connected Sept. 27, 2020. She besides has 3 sons from a erstwhile marriage, Reilly, Noah and Isaac Reategui.

Chow fto her hairsbreadth turn back, which tin beryllium seen successful a blessed household photograph from past Christmas. But soon aft the caller year, connected Jan. 8, she got the devastating news: Tests showed she had acute myeloid leukemia and needed much chemotherapy — and a stem compartment transplant.

“My caput started spinning,” she said successful April. “I thought my crab travel was over. It didn’t look real.”

That’s erstwhile Davis, a person and concern spouse successful Rhonda and Jennifer Keller Williams Pacific-Estates Realty, organized the swab drive-thru for a transplant donor. Davis and Chow archetypal met successful 2013. Davis was besides the existent property cause for the Seal Beach location Chow bought successful 2017. Davis mentored Chow successful existent property and, successful July 2020, Chow got her existent property licence and did precise well, adjacent making a Top 25 income database successful October of that year.

Then came the leukemia diagnosis, which enactment everything connected hold.

In the week earlier she died — which besides marked her and Blake Chow’s archetypal wedding day — Chow talked to Davis and household members successful idiosyncratic meetings astatine the infirmary due to the fact that of COVID-19 guidelines.

“I saw her past connected Sept. 29,” Davis said. “She kept saying, ‘I’m warring this. I’m not going to springiness up.’ She was not talking astir death. She was optimistic. She talked astir anticipation and the future.”

Blake Chow said his wife, contempt remaining affirmative and optimistic passim her ordeal, besides had times erstwhile she was frightened of the unknown.

“But she ne'er fto that get successful the way,” helium said, “of what she had to bash to survive.”

Besides the chemotherapy, Chow besides had to person humor transfusions that took up to six oregon 7 hours.

“She ne'er mislaid her affirmative attitude,” Chow’s hubby said. “She ne'er said, ‘I’m done.’

“We each were scared,” helium added. “I can’t convey capable the City of Hope doctors and unit for their cognition and caring. There’s a crushed it’s called the City of Hope. They springiness patients a crushed to hope.”

Shortly earlier Chow died, connected Oct. 4, her hubby entered her country for a visit. She was asleep, Blake Chow said, but opened her eyes erstwhile helium neared.

“I said I loved her,” the widower said. “She asked maine astir the children and however they were doing. She cared astir different radical much than she cared astir herself. I told her and past she closed her eyes.”

It was the past clip the mates were unneurotic portion Chow was alive.

Besides her husband, Jennifer Lynn Chow is survived by her parent and father, Teena and Randall Balentine; her sister, Stacy Ballentine; and her children and stepchildren, Reilly Reategui, 17; Noah Reategui, 15; Isaac Reategui, 10; Andrew Chow, 28; Nick Chow, 24; and Thea Chow, 17.

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