Still Going Strong

JHDJ co-founder Stephanie Jocham has not let cancer get in the way of her passion.


Stephanie Jocham has wanted to be a lawyer since she was a little girl. In 2008, she teamed with Lanae Harden, Jill Dimick, and Michele Jackson to form the JHDJ law firm in Carmel, where she predominantly serves as a mediator for divorce cases.


 Now, both the career she loves and – more importantly – her life are in jeopardy.


In January, Jocham was diagnosed with stage IV sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that stemmed from a football-sized tumor in her thigh. Doctors suspected the tumor to be a muscle strain for months. 


The always healthy, active and involved 42-year-old was shocked. After having a successful surgery to remove the tumor and undergoing radiation, doctors informed her that the cancer had spread to several spots in her lungs.


 “I hoped the surgery would be it,” Jocham said. “I’m kind of fighting for my life right now – not what I planned on doing this year.” 


But the resilient attorney, whose constant smile and positivity makes her diagnosis seem like a stubbed toe, continues to work when she can. She had to pass all of her cases along, which her co-workers picked up, but she still manages the firm and does some casework. She plans on doing more once she adjusts.


“Her work is her passion; she certainly doesn’t want to give it up at this time,” Harden said. “She’s been remarkably strong, and her positive outlook puts all of our bad days into perspective.” 


One of Jocham’s greatest disappointments was canceling several trips to Haiti with other women from the office in January and May. According to Amber Small, the director of business development for the firm, the number of orphans in Haiti skyrocketed from 350,000 to 2 million after the earthquake. Small added that the firm received “more than 1,000 calls a day” from people interested in adopting these orphans, and the firm has been doing everything possible to facilitate this often complicated process. 


“One of the biggest issues is that many of the children there aren't actually in orphan status,” said Jackson, who focuses on international and domestic adoption for the firm. 


In their most recent trip there, which lasted three days, Small, Jackson and two others visited four orphanages, gaining trustworthy contacts and trying to identify those children who had been identified as orphans before the earthquake began. 


JHDJ has worked to make the most of a bad situation in Haiti by helping children in need and providing additions to area families. Now, Jocham relies on her JHDJ family to support her through her ongoing battle.


“It’s really difficult to put into words the support I’ve received, here and in the entire legal community,” she said. “The cards, the calls, the e-mails, the text messages – it’s just so wonderfully overwhelming.”



Along with being “dinner fairies,” a term Jocham used to describe the way dinner miraculously appears on her doorstep every night, the women at JHDJ started a Relay for Life team in Jocham’s honor. The team, with a stiletto-stamped logo saying “Stepping with Steph,” raised more money than any other team in Washington Township history.


 “This is really just a reflection of her generosity to others,” Jackson said. “It’s easy to show your support for someone who has been so friendly and giving to everyone in the past.” 


Jocham plans to throw a “girl power” party on Friday, while her friend shaves her head. 


“We’ll have some wine and try on my wig; I won’t let this get me down,” she said. 


Though chemotherapy has caused Jocham to lose her hair, she said she refuses to let cancer rob her of anything else.


“I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m determined to suck every ounce of joy out of life every day, whether I have five months or 50 years.”


Originally published in the Current in Carmel on June 1, 2010.  Link here.