Inspirational Stories

May of 2017, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma following my 19th birthday. The news of cancer shook my reality as I’d just began establishing my life. I was forced to give up my independence and lean on my community.

After six months of treatment I showed no evidence of disease. On a follow-up post treatment there was spots present of growth and I had a few more rounds of chemo added. Almost a year had gone without signs of cancer, but symptoms were appearing.

In May of 2019, right before my 21st birthday, I ended up in the hospital again with a serious relapse. I did six months of inpatient chemo followed by a stem cell transplant in March 2020.

I’m currently in the maintenance e phase. Everything’s looking as good as it can in a global pandemic. Living as an AYA patient I’ve had to learn life a different way. I’ve learned plans don’t always work out and we’re not promised tomorrow, but we have right now. Though things haven’t gone how I expected them to I’m grateful for this experience for it has taught me love, joy, and strength.