Cassie Jalilie of the Venomous Pinks is battling cervical cancer and kidney failure.
Angela RoseRed
In the punk rock world, there has also been a long history of musicians and fans burning the candle at both ends with a “Fuck the world” mentality that, again, has not turned out well for a lot of people.
For 35-year-old Venomous Pinks drummer Cassie Jalilie, living fast has been part of the equation for her entire adult life as a member of multiple bands who have toured extensively. She’s also not a “fuck the world” type of person, but the last couple of years have been filled with pain, uncertainty, and a diagnosis that no one in the mid-30s wants to hear: kidney failure and cervical cancer.
“The kidney failure was caused by the stage three cervical cancer,” says Jalilie over the phone from her home in California.
After two years of debilitating pain and misdiagnosis, a tumor was found in Jalilie’s abdomen that was obstructing the flow of urine between her kidneys and her bladder.
“I literally couldn’t pee for six months, not a drop, which is why I ended up on dialysis,” says Jalilie.
Wrap your brain around that one, folks.
As a touring musician for much of her adult life, Jalilie was used to the aches and pains that come from moving drums around, sleeping in vans and on living room floors, difficulty in eating right, and everything else that goes along with being on the road for weeks and months at a time. At the beginning of this medical journey, she figured it was probably just her lifestyle that was bringing her down physically.
Things that would have been red flags for non-drummers didn’t seem like much to worry about early on.
“My doctors have been saying that with this type of cancer, even something like fatigue, having back pain…those are red flags. I would say, though, ‘I’m a drummer. I lift drums. That’s probably what it is, and every time I went to urgent care, which was several times a year, they didn’t check my kidney function,” says Jalilie.
At one point, the doctors she saw even suggested that she had just pulled a muscle.
“In the front? I’m regularly active and I’ve never pulled a muscle in the front (of my abdomen). I’m pretty in shape, for the most part,” says Jalilie.
This experience has given Jalilie a new outlook on self-advocacy, and she hopes others can learn from her experience.
“I should have pushed for more. I would tell anyone going through something like this to push for yourself, ask questions, and talk about every symptom you have, even if you think it is nothing to worry about. Push for answers (from medical professionals) because you never know. Looking back now, all the things I passed off to ‘normal’ things were red flags for this cancer,” says Jalilie.
There is good news, though.
Eventually, Jalilie found help from her new gynecologist. It took a while to find the right person, partially due to being told that no one understood what was happening to her because she was young and healthy and partially due to not having medical insurance.
Once she met with this thoughtful, proactive doctor, Jalilie was properly diagnosed and treatment began, including a specialized form of chemotherapy in an attempt to avoid further damaging her kidneys. While cervical cancer is a highly treatable form of cancer, many types of chemotherapy are harmful to the kidneys.
“I was down to 4% kidney function at one point. You would think you would feel like you were dying at this point, but it was just back and stomach pain. It is scary to think you can get that bad and have no idea (what is happening), “says Jalilie
The initial results have been very positive, and Jalilie’s kidneys are back up above 40%.
“It’s now at 42%, which is amazing. It’s the highest it has been in half a year, so the treatment is really working. I can pee now, too (she says with a laugh), so they took me off dialysis. Those are all signs that the treatment is working and the tumor is going down and shrinking, so that’s a good thing,” says Jalilie.
Needless to say, now would be a great time to visit the band’s website and grab a new Venomous Pinks t-shirt, hats, stickers, vinyl, or all of those things.
Jalilie’s treatment costs have been exorbitant to say the least, and she’s currently looking at ways to get some relief through the system in California, but every little bit helps. If you visit the band’s social media here or here, you can find more options to help Jalilie with her costs.
Right now, though, with things looking up, Jalilie is excited to get back behind the kit and be ready for some upcoming Venomous Pinks’ shows in Hawaii in September.
“I actually just started playing a couple of days ago. I got through two of our songs, because our songs are really fast, and then yesterday (June 19), I went to the beach and walked half a mile, which is, like, insane. A few months ago, I could barely walk a few steps without being worn out,” says Jalilie, before adding:
“We are playing in Hawaii in September, so by then, for sure.”
Hopefully, this also means some upcoming shows for the local favorites here in the Phoenix area, too. In the meantime, Jalilie wants to get the word out to as many people as possible that getting yourself checked out when you don’t feel well and advocating for yourself is the way to go.
“The importance of getting tested, getting your screenings, and knowing there are options out there is huge. I didn’t know that, and that is part of the reason why it got to where it is now,” says Jalilie.
