Search Results
Adriane
A day before my 29th birthday, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma stage IV. No one expects a cancer diagnosis, especially when you’re young. It was a game changer for the rest of my life.
Liv
When I was 25 years old, I started my new, dream job as a health and physical education teacher. Six days into the school year, I went for a CT scan after months of complications with my breathing. I got the results later that day while I was on my lunch break.
The doctors had found a 10.5 cm tumor sitting in my chest and just millimeters away from cutting off blood circulation to my brain. I was told to rush to the ER but not to panic. Well of course I panicked, and left work in shock. I went to Rhode Island Hospital and was immediately admitted.
Kimberly
When my husband, NFL linebacker Elijah, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2005, shortly after retiring from the Oakland Raiders, we were stunned. Neither of us had ever heard of it.
Life with multiple myeloma became an instant roller coaster. As his caregiver I knew it was my job to learn as much as possible about what we were facing, while trying to keep things normal for our two young sons.
Emotional
What the Patient May Be FeelingYou will likely find your loved one experiencing a wide range of emotions that can include sadness, guilt, fear, anxiety, loneliness, grief, withdrawal and disengagement. He or she can be stubborn and resistant, though oftentimes patients do this to maintain a sense of control. Some people welcome death, some fade slowly and some fight death intensely till the very end. We are all individuals, and it's important to remember that your family member will die in his or her own way. There is no "right" way to die, and it's important to remember this as well.
Katherine
Hello! My name is Katherine and I was diagnosed in January 2020 with stage IV classical Hodgkin's lymphoma. My diagnosis came after months of fatigue and diffuse body pain. Initially I was evaluated for lupus or RA, but those diagnoses didn't quite fit. After discussing with my PCP again and noting a persistent cough, a CT and PET-CT showed diffuse lymphadenopathy and lesions on my liver and spleen.
Joseph
I came down with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2006 which transformed into an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma (NHL) in 2013. In 2015, I received an umbilical cord transplant at Penn Medicine Hospital in Philadelphia which was successful. This month, I celebrate nine years post-transplant.
Shanna
Everything was going great in life. I had just quit my job to pursue my dreams of starting a business, moved closer to family, bought our first house, and got a puppy. Then, a small lump on my neck changed my life forever.
I, a 25-year-old half marathoner with no health issues, was diagnosed with stage 2a Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The chemo (ABVD) about killed me. I went from living an active life to needing help with the simplest of tasks. But I made it through, and boy, did we celebrate.
Robert
I’m 37 years old, and I was recently diagnosed with stage 4 high-grade diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Life was going well. I got promoted at my job and was doing great when all of a sudden, my life changed forever. It started with severe leg and back pain. I went to the hospital and had some basic tests done, and they sent me home. Two days later, I was back in the hospital because the pain was so intense I could barely get out of bed or walk without assistance.
Zach
It was 2020, and besides the obvious chaos in the world, at that time my life was going great. My business was thriving, I had just gotten engaged, and my fiancée and I were beginning to talk about starting a family. I was at what felt like the peak of my life. Everything was going my way, or so I thought.
Bruce
I was diagnosed with stage III mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in October 2004 following a routine physical exam. I wasn’t feeling ill, but since I quit smoking many years ago, as a precaution, my primary care physician recommended having a computed tomography (CT) scan of my lungs to see if I had any residual damage.
Melva
I am a survivor of lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin). I was diagnosed with two kinds of cancer at the same time.
When the doctors finally found out what I had, I was already a stage 4. After more than a year of treatment and a stem cell transplant, I can say that I am cancer free. I don't say that too loud because I don't want to make something inside me come back. One doctor even told me that I was going to die. I did not give up!
Clio
I lost my mom to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2003. Her battle was short, just three months, which left me in shock and feeling very angry. My mom had always instilled in me the value of working hard to accomplish goals and I knew she wouldn’t want me wasting energy being angry. In late 2004, I decided to find a way to channel the anger into something productive, and just weeks later I came across a Team In Training (TNT) brochure. I started running half marathons with TNT and I’ve since completed about a dozen.
Damion
In 2020, at the age of 36, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM). To say this was out of left field would be an understatement. Historically, MM has been recognized as a blood cancer that impacts older patients. That research may be changing. Also, MM disproportionally affects African Americans. At the time of my diagnosis, I was a pretty healthy guy. I tried to eat right and even played in two basketball leagues each week. When I went to the doctor with stomach issues, I wasn't expecting to leave with a cancer diagnosis.
Elisa
I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in April 2022 at 27 years old. After months of debilitating symptoms and a week-long hospital stay, I finally had an answer as to what was going on with my body. I was relieved to have an answer, but "cancer" was the last thing I expected. Ironically, after my diagnosis and first chemotherapy infusion, I felt better than I had in months. I didn't feel like I had cancer; the only reminders were a few enlarged lymph nodes and the mediport protruding from the right side of my chest.
Eileen
To say that I have always been daddy's little girl would be the biggest understatement. Everything from school dances to projects in the garage, I could always be found by my dad's side. In 2009, my dad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Heather
Heather Banks draws her inspiration from her good friend, who has been fighting non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for the past 10 years and her college best friend who is a survivor. She is motivated by her friends’ strength, determination, and positivity. In times of feeling helpless, she channels that energy and puts it into her sewing machine.
Ann
After being in remission from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for 12 years, things were going well for me. Then a day after my 48th birthday, I was diagnosed once again! It hit me really hard, and I could not seem to get past the words from the doctor, "You have_____."
Suzanne
In January 2021, I received my diagnosis after five months of multiple doctor visits, blood work, and biopsies. I had no common symptoms such as night sweats or fatigue, just a small lump behind my ear. It was removed, and the pathology came back as non-cancerous. About six or so weeks later, another lump showed up. I decided to switch doctors, and they also didn't feel it was cancer based on my chart. But after they removed it, the pathology shared a much different story.
Martin
In February of 2020, at 32 years old, Martin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Soon after being diagnosed, the COVID pandemic struck the world, and Martin was laid off from his job along with hundreds of others working for the major airline Avianca. With this, he lost his income and health insurance.
Carol
Meet carol. hodgkin survivor. indiana. Carol was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010. After being a stay-at-home mom, she went back to school to get her teaching degree and found out she had a grapefruit size tumor in her chest when she was one week away from finishing her student teaching. She put off finding a teaching job for a year while going through six months of chemotherapy. She was able to work as a learning specialist while going through her treatments as she had a very supportive principal.
Alec and Aden
Can you imagine being a single mom by circumstances out of her control, navigating uncontrollable circumstances, as her identical twins display remarkable fortitude in the face of cancer, diagnosed three years apart? Successful at a well-paying job that afforded her the ability to support the boys and four other siblings in grade school. Managing life with six children would be challenging alone! No help from the children's father or his family, and her mother passed away years ago.
Scott
My experience with lymphoma began unexpectedly in August 2016. I began experiencing back pain with a large swollen band growing diagonally across my back. Thinking it was probably muscular, I went to see my physician who ordered an MRI. Cancer had never crossed my mind when he called me that same day and said I needed to be seen very soon by an oncologist. I was dumbfounded and left with no words. After scans, bloodwork, and a number of doctors collaborating on the findings, it was determined that I had stage 4B peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (PTCL).
Ashley
Three little words changed my life forever!