Inspirational Stories

In 2017, I found out I had non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). I was always a healthy person who exercised almost daily at the time, so this came as a complete shock. I immediately wanted to start treatment; the sooner the better. My wife did all the research and investigating into where I could find the best treatment as quickly as possible. We were emotionally devastated by the entire ordeal. 

I started off by needing surgery to remove the diseased tissue. Then I started R-Chop for six cycles along with several lumbar punctures, overnight hospital stays for high-dose infusions, plus several weeks of daily radiation. My treatment officially ended right before my 60th birthday in September 2017, and I've been in remission since, thank God. 

During my treatment, the doctors at Weill Cornell NY Presbyterian Hospital told me about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), and my wife immediately reached out to them. They helped us financially a bit with the medical bills because I had to pause working at that time. They also had patient and caregiver support calls for both my wife and me, and they connected us to other people who went through the same and how they coped with this. They also provided very helpful information about the type of lymphoma I had because Internet research won't be very accurate. We had both of our families rally around to help with transportation to infusions and bring us meals, so we were fortunate to have an extended support system. This can be an extremely overwhelming and stressful experience so it helps to have a great partner and support system. LLS was part of that support system, and for that, my wife and I will be forever grateful. We now participate in the annual Light The Night (LTN) walk to raise money for cancer research as a way of "paying it forward." I'm so thankful to have had LLS on my side as I endured my cancer treatment.