Inspirational Stories

November 25, 2022 ― the worst day of my life, the day I received my official cancer diagnosis, stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Leading up to this day, I was always a healthy, active young lady. I was 23 years old and eager to start this next phase in life. Exciting things were happening. We were fairly new homeowners, I had just changed jobs/occupations, and I married the love of my life in October.

I started noticing a couple of months before my diagnosis that I was having slight chest pain when I sneezed, coughed, or laughed hard. I am NOT a fan of the doctors, so I put it on the backburner assuming I had come down with something, and it would pass. Honestly, it was uncomfortable, but I could tolerate it. Like most things, it got worse and was happening more frequently. At this point, I was noticing when I ate certain spicy foods or drank even a sip of alcohol, my pain returned . . . and doubled. I hadn't had heartburn before, so again I brushed it off thinking nothing was wrong. My husband finally convinced me to be seen. I scheduled an appointment, and they didn't think it sounded very serious either. They thought maybe it was an episode of GERD and planned to start me on a medication to see if it might help. She offered a chest X-ray while I was there. Call it what you want, but I'm convinced God pointed me in the right direction here. I am not the type that has tests run if I don't absolutely need it, but I accepted for some reason. This is where my story turns . . .

I got home and received a phone call rather quickly that they did in fact find a large mass pushed against my trachea, and I needed a CT. I had my CT performed within that same week and again received "results" quickly. They started hinting it was likely cancer but couldn't confirm until further testing was done; They went ahead and scheduled me with an oncologist who made room to get me in ASAP. They were concerned about the size and placement of this mass and advised if I had even the slightest trouble breathing to rush to an ER. Luckily, I never had to!

The next month was full of tests, imaging, and biopsies. My oncologist was able to confirm my diagnosis but needed some more answers before he could provide me with the stage. We were also scared about my fertility. He wasn't sure if I would need to freeze my eggs or not; there were a lot of factors they would have to take into consideration. He was able to share that it was either stage II or stage IV. This was confusing to me; I never knew how the staging was determined beforehand! I was immediately scheduled to have my port inserted (in which they had complications, turns out I had a blood clot). They closed me up on that side and ended up putting it on the left side. I was given a blood thinner throughout treatment. At this point, it seemed that every test that came back just led to another. But finally, after getting an echo/ultrasound on my heart and a bone marrow biopsy, they were able to confirm it was stage IV. They also determined I had another two masses on the lining of my pericardium (sac around the heart).

My doctor went ahead and put together my treatment plan ― I would undergo 12 chemotherapy treatments but no radiation unless future scans showed I wasn't responding correctly. He was able to use certain chemotherapy drugs to preserve my fertility. To be on the safe side, I did receive a monthly drug that "put my reproductive system to sleep." I started this regimen the same day. As if it wasn't already an overwhelming and LONG day, I ended up being allergic to one of the premeds (Emend). They obviously had to shuffle some meds around for future treatments, but otherwise, I tolerated the chemotherapy pretty well. I was very fortunate in terms of side effects during treatment. I lost my hair after my third treatment, and eyebrows and eyelashes were soon to follow. My bones were sore, specifically my back, hips, and jaw. Due to the steroids I was on, I was hungry ALL the time and gained quite a bit of weight (weird, right!?). I was also SO tired. I think I could have slept the entire six months through.

I am now proud to say I kicked cancer's ass and am 1.5 years in remission. I learned a lot about cancer, treatment, and even things about myself. I never thought I would have the strength or courage to win such a fight. I am also learning how to not stretch myself too thin. I have always been very independent and didn't want to rely on others. When I finally did, it was a little weight off my shoulders mentally and physically. I also didn't ever realize that your body doesn't snap back after treatment is over. So, I have been struggling with my new normal. Little milestones are something to celebrate!

I am beyond grateful for organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). It's been a great resource mentally and financially. Thank you to the volunteers, patients who have shared their stories, and donors.