I was truly blessed to be introduced to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by workers from Duquesne Light Company as well as my daughter, Ebony Jennings who works as a customer service representative for Duquesne Light Company in Pittsburgh PA. First, I must boast about my granddaughter, Laniya S. White, because she’s a TRUE fighter and never allowed lymphoma to define her.
My name is Bethaney Jones and I am a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor. I was diagnosed in April 2018 after a routine check up for a cough that lasted for months.
After my diagnosis, I was unable to complete the school year with my awesome third graders. I endured six months of chemotherapy and I was able to ring the bell on October 12, one day after my 28th birthday.
December of 2017 was a difficult time for me. It is the month that is usually filled with happiness, excitement and Christmas cheer. For me, it was the month I found out that I had Hodgkin lymphoma. It’s crazy when you think about it – we see all of these facts and figures about people who are diagnosed with cancer and we never, really, truly believe it could happen to us.
My husband Patrick had a chest cold for about two months. I finally convinced him to go to the urgent care and they did an X-ray. Soon they found that he had an abnormally shaped aorta, so they sent him to our primary for testing.
My first day of treatment was on July 18, 2018 at UCLA Medical. That's where I met Natasha. I was a bit nervous going in not knowing what to expect so the nurses connected both of us. That same day Natasha found out she was in remission and I couldn't be happier for her. We both were diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, going through the same treatment, and had the same doctor.
It started with a cough that would not go away. A cough so bad that it would stop him in his tracks and he'd have to rest afterwards for a few minutes just to catch his breath and regain strength. This was in March 2016. My husband, Mike, was like any other 31 year old "healthy" person. He figured the cough was allergies or a stubborn cold.
In January 2016, I was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin lymphoma. I was four months pregnant at the time, and it was decided to carry to term because this type of blood cancer is a slower spreading cancer.
