We were first sent to Children’s Mercy on January 5 with suspicion of an abscess in her neck. After multiple diagnostic tests, referrals to various medical specialists, and labs drawn, they came to a rheumatologic diagnosis of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA).
I was diagnosed with large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) on May 2, 2023. It was such a shock to me, but months prior to the diagnosis, I already wasn’t feeling well. I was dealing with body aches every day, and nothing would help take the pain away. It wasn’t until I had a bad case of food poisoning that I ended up in the ER.
On April 23, 2020, at the age of 15, my whole world changed. I got the call that I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) while getting ready for a birthday party. Throughout quarantine, I had to undergo four cycles of chemotherapy and 14 days of radiation consisting of countless days in and out of the hospital.
Kali’a, at just four months old, was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a high-risk condition requiring a bone marrow transplant. What began as a routine four-month check-up quickly turned into our worst nightmare. Despite having plans for a day at Disneyland, a decision to keep the appointment proved fateful as the doctor discovered her enlarged spleen.
When Dylan was a senior in high school, at the age of 17, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). He was getting ready for his last semester of high school and ready to pursue his dreams of playing college volleyball when life confronted him with a massive health battle. He spent the next six months putting up a constant fight and underwent 12 chemotherapy treatments.
During COVID, I completed my graduate degree. This was in 2020, and things started to look up. Not only did I become the first member of my family to achieve a graduate degree, I also did it pregnant. I welcomed my second child in 2020, two months after graduation.
I know the pain of being told that you have cancer twice, but I also know the joy of being told that you have beaten cancer twice. I write this message to bring encouragement and to instill a fight in people who have had a relapse of cancer. Being told once that you have this disease is already heartbreaking, but to be told that it came back and you will need chemo again is soul-crushing.
My name is Joshua. I was born and raised in South Florida and moved to Oregon after high school 8 years ago. I can’t say that I had a difficult childhood growing up just difficult circumstances that were challenges to overcome.
In April 2021, as I was just starting to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I started to feel unwell. I was suddenly very tired and could not finish a soccer match. My family and I decided to reach out to our family doctor and look into my fatigue; we were not worried at all. We attributed my symptoms to adolescence and growth, and so did our doctor at first.
