Tennessee first lady Maria Lee opens up about her cancer battle: ‘The Lord has healed me’

As Tennessee's first lady stepped onto the stage inside a ballroom at the Cool Springs Hilton on election night in 2022, the crowd was ecstatic.

Wearing a blue blouse and silver head scarf, first lady Maria Lee stood alongside her husband and spoke to the crowd shortly after he declared victory.

Maria Lee's presence that evening was particularly noteworthy: she was three months into chemotherapy to treat a rare and aggressive cancer.

“Election night in November was surreal," she told The Tennessean during a recent interview, "because at the time I was like, I don't know where I'm going to be in November after I got diagnosed in August.”

Hundreds of people across the state had hoped and prayed that Tennessee's first lady – known for her humble heart of service and gracious manner – would make it to that day.

“To be able to stand out there and support Bill, and be able to give a testimony of what the Lord had done from August to November was just an honor for me,” she said. “I just felt a deep sense of gratitude to be there.”

Leading with service

Maria Lee, the governor’s wife of 15 years, has worked alongside her husband for the last five years, encouraging Tennesseans to serve one another.

"From day one when I decided to run for Governor, Maria was there with me every step of the way," Gov. Bill Lee told The Tennessean in a statement. "In the early campaign days, she drove behind me in the truck on the statewide tractor tour, sat beside me in the RV at every county stop, and attended every Reagan Day dinner. It has been the highest honor to serve Tennesseans together."

Growing up in Maryland, she learned a life of service from her parents, who fostered infants and cared for elderly neighbors through their church.

"My heart for serving others was really instilled in me as a young child," she said. "My parents just were examples to my siblings and myself about looking for other people's needs and helping where we can."

Stepping into the role of first lady, she didn't want to limit her service to one group or community of people. So, in 2019, she launched Tennessee Serves, an initiative to encourage residents to undertake service projects to help all kinds of people in need.

"We decided to cast a big, wide net so that we would be able to serve a variety of people," she said. "I could not just focus on one area to serve or one people to serve: I want to serve veterans and I want to serve children and I want to serve the elderly and I want to serve homeless. How do you just narrow it down and pick one?"

A highlight, she said, has been meeting volunteers from all walks of life all across the state ― particularly children who she invites to the Tennessee Residence for a carnival every summer after they complete a service challenge to celebrate those efforts.

"The volunteers that come to that are always just amazed and encouraged by what the children have done that summer," she said. "[We] are just amazed at the effort and the time and the unique ways that kids have figured out to serve other people."

'A daunting diagnosis'

But, in many respects, things changed in August 2022.

Just a few months before Election Day would determine whether her husband would serve a second term, the first lady was unexpectedly diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

"Maria’s cancer diagnosis was a shock and particularly difficult given the jobs that we both have," the governor told The Tennessean.

“After receiving that news, Bill and I kind of stopped in our tracks ― like, okay, what next? Now what? ― holding our future loosely," the first lady recalls.

At the same time as her cancer diagnosis, the first lady was diagnosed with a life-threatening systemic inflammatory condition called Haemophagocytic lymphohisticytosis, or HLH.

The disease can cause dysregulated immune activity that results in malignant inflammation and tissue destruction, according to the National Institutes of Health. Untreated, HLH is "almost universally fatal" and even when treated, mortality is high, according to NIH.

“Doctors were really concerned about it. They knew immediately once that was diagnosed that their first priority was to attack that HLH because of the severity of what it can do,” she recalls. “It was sort of like a double whammy: ‘hey, you’ve got cancer – a really rare one – and by the way, you have this other really rare thing and we’ve got to deal with that before we can deal with the cancer.”

When the governor’s office announced her diagnosis, the governor said that while unexpected, “her prognosis is good and it is treatable.”

“It's definitely a daunting diagnosis, no matter what kind of cancer you're told you have,” Maria Lee said. “In that, we were also filled with just a peace and a hope. We knew that no matter what happened, God was holding us in his hands."

The road to remission

Her cancer treatment lasted seven months, and included six rounds of intense chemotherapy and eventually a stem cell treatment.

"I had a really great medical team around me," she said. “I had to be isolated a lot, but there were certain times during the treatment that I could be around people. When those times came, I really did want to be with friends and people who would bring life and levity to my day.”

During the early months of her treatment, her husband was running for reelection. But rather than spending time on the campaign trail, he was by her side. The governor cruised to a second term and did not engage in the same type of traditional campaigning as he did in 2018.

“I’m just very grateful to have Bill around me, supportive friends and family to carry me through every day," she said. "Being in the hospital every day, I recognize that not everyone has that. ... It really tugged at my heart that you would see somebody sitting alone, with nobody; people coming out having to take a shuttle to get back to their house."

The first lady's sister came to care for her "to help alleviate some of the pressure on Bill's shoulders," she said.

“I think the caretakers have just as much they’re going through,” Maria Lee said. “It’s one thing for a patient to be going through a sickness, but the person caring for them walks in a whole road equally as intense.”

For the most part, the first lady's cancer journey was kept private. But supporters from across the state and across the country sent messages of encouragement and prayer.

"To know that so many people ― loved ones and strangers alike ― were lifting us up and asking the Lord for my healing was encouraging and at the same time so humbling," she said. "I'm still deeply touched."

She has kept a box full of the messages from all across the country she received during that time.

"We were moved and deeply appreciated the thousands of people who reached out with prayers and support as she underwent treatment," the governor told The Tennessean. "We were reminded that so many others walk through difficult days of their own, and we were also reminded that scripture says suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope, which doesn’t disappoint. We never lost hope and through those days were reminded that we never will."

In early November 2022, the first lady released a video update saying that “doctors are encouraged by how well the treatments are working so far,” and thanking well-wishers for their support.

Days later, she appeared on the stage alongside the governor on election night.

"She's been battling cancer for the last several months. It's been tough, but she's been tougher," the governor said, before welcoming her onto the stage. "We were concerned that she wouldn't be able to be here tonight, but she couldn't stay home."

Lee worked with her medical team to schedule medical treatments around holidays and around the governor's second inauguration in January, and stood alongside her husband as he took the oath of office for a second time.

In February, the governor’s office announced that Lee would undergo a bone marrow transplant.

“While there are difficult days ahead, Maria and I have great trust in the Lord," the governor said in a statement at the time.

Through it all, she kept her focus on the people around her.

"A lot of times, people aren't sure what to do," she said. "I think allowing people in your space, as much as you're comfortable with, helps with healing.. ... Just being in the presence of somebody is a huge gift. ... For me, just allowing people in and letting them know I'm okay ― that kind of helps them be okay."

On April 13, 2023, Maria Lee announced that she was in remission. Doctors will continue to monitor her for the next five years.

"The Lord has healed me," she said.

'I'm getting stronger.'

As her strength has returned in recent months, the first lady has resumed public appearances and her service behind the scenes.

"I'm getting stronger, I'm able to do things again," she said. "It's great to be able to be back and serving."

In June, she visited with children and families at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, bringing baskets of books to patients, and sharing about her recent cancer journey. Through September, she joined the governor on several conservation projects at state parks around Tennessee.

In October, her team distributed more than 1,000 coats to kids in Hancock County. Just before Thanksgiving, Lee and her team coordinated 100 baskets of turkey dinners, sides and desserts and delivered them to veterans around middle Tennessee. Last month, she read to children gathered for the annual Christmas at the Capitol celebration.

"This 8-year journey we’re on, like life, has been fascinating, wonderful and difficult," the governor said. "I’m so grateful to have Maria by my side.”

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee first lady Maria Lee opens up about lymphoma treatment, HLH