Acute myeloid leukemia patients Molly Gorczyca, 21, and Ryan Smith, 21, have been inseparable since connecting online.
In a heartwarming story, two cancer patients have fallen in love after connecting online and bonding over their shared experiences.
Molly Gorczyca, 21, and Ryan Smith, 21, were both diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia.
Whilst battling the disease, the student, from New Jersey, US, stumbled across Ryan on social media and connected with him over their shared experiences.
Now, both are in remission and couldn’t be happier together.
Molly recalled: “I was scrolling on Instagram which is when I saw a basketball player who was my age with the same cancer.
“And he was cute! I sent him a message from one student athlete with cancer to another. This type of blood cancer rarely affects young people so I thought it would be good to connect with someone who understands what he is going through. I didn’t expect it to progress to a romantic level but we hit it off.”
After one month of talking online, Ryan from Pennsylvania, US, went to visit Molly twice whilst she was recovering in hospital, which was only a short walk away from his.
Molly said: “I definitely didn’t think I would get a boyfriend whilst battling cancer. My agenda was to beat it and get out of hospital.
“But meeting Ryan was definitely a silver lining. We are so happy that something positive has come from a really terrible time. We are both in remission and refuse to let cancer define us. We have so much more in common than the cruel disease.”
Given their shared experiences, the couple were able to support one another through the dark days, and share an empathy for each other’s struggles.
She said: “When Ryan had his transplant, I knew what to say as I had already been there. I understand more than someone else so I could tailor how I interact with him and support him because I have experienced it.
“We both have an understanding and experience so it is easier to talk about it and offer support. We have a mutual understanding that it is a really tough time – we knew what to say and what not to.”
Discussing their whirlwind romance, Molly added: “We definitely made the best out of a bad situation, we’ve now been together for seven months and couldn’t be happier.”