Faced with the prospect of losing their hair, friends decided to buy Jay a “lilac wig with bangs”, and they started wearing make-up for hospital treatment.
“I started to do drag, and Shanika Sunrise was this product of my experience, and this coping mechanism,” they said.
They entered remission in September 2017 after successful treatment, but the next year relapsed, learning the cancer had spread.
Jay said the news was “obviously pretty hard-hitting”, and doctors wanted them to have a bone marrow transplant, because “with refractory lymphoma, it’s not going to go away, it’s a bit of a diva”.
