Inspirational Stories

My name is Olivia. I am British but grew up in the United States. For the past eight years, I have lived in Maui, Hawaii, as a professional water sports athlete. I am a professional kitesurfer and hydrofoiler, but I am also an avid runner, biker, swimmer, hiker, skier, surfer, etc.

At the beginning of April, I was scheduled to have back surgery for chronic back pain that I have endured over the past couple of years. My surgeon ordered a pre-op chest X-ray. This showed a mediastinal mass suspected to be lymphoma. After multiple scans, a failed biopsy, and another successful biopsy, I was diagnosed with stage 2A nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma (NSHL) by the end of April. Over the span of a week, I picked up and moved from Maui to Los Angeles to receive my care at the City of Hope Hospital (chemo for six rounds).

I had no symptoms whatsoever. Just the weekend before that initial chest X-ray, I had hiked 25 miles at 10,000 feet elevation with a 45-pound backpack with no abnormal fatigue. About one month before the diagnosis, I hiked through the backcountry of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the snow for eight hours. I was continuing my sports at the highest level (despite the back pain) with zero thought I may have any symptoms of cancer. To say this was a shock was an understatement.

I am currently five infusions down out of 12. So far, I have found that continual movement and exercise have kept my mind clear and focused on remission. Even a brisk walk when feeling low or a bike ride down the Santa Monica boardwalk has kept my mental state in check. I aim to keep moving and maybe inspire others going through something similar! Each day is new for me in this process, but I have my sights set on the first time I can return to the ocean when I am in remission and that first surf/hydrofoil/kitesurf session.