WEWS reporter Olivia Fecteau has been off the air for nearly a year since she was diagnosed with cancer in November 2020. Now, she is officially back at the station.
The Cleveland, Ohio reporter returned to the station today after a long hiatus to treat a rare, fast-growing blood cancer called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma.
“I’ll be working remotely and just three days a week to start, so I can ease back into all of this. You probably won’t see me on camera for a while (my choice), but you’ll hear my voice again!” Fecteau said in a recent Facebook post.
Fecteau, who has been a reporter for nine years, went to the doctor in fall 2020 when she thought she may have contracted Covid-19. After being diagnosed, she was immediately admitted to the hospital at Cleveland Clinic to begin aggressive treatment, which included chemotherapy, steroids and cranial radiation.
In December, Fecteau shared that she was in remission. She will have to undergo maintenance treatment for more than a year, and then after that, she will continue regular check-ins with her doctor for at least another 5 years.
For the reporter, her return to work will represent a “new normal” as she balances her career with her ongoing treatment.
“I was so upset thinking to myself, am I ever going to get the old me back? Am I ever going to get my old life back? And the reality is I’m not going to, but I do get some semblance of normalcy by going back to work and being able to do my job,” Fecteau said in a story published by the station.