Round 1
Round 1. Is there a great intro to this one? I don’t know, but it sure isn't coming to me. Starting at the beginning is always a good place. 2015 was not my year, or my family's to be honest, but those are posts for another day. Memorial Day weekend, we had taken a family trip to Denver to watch the San Fran Giants (my heart, Buster Posey), and I had mentioned to my mom the "bump" on my bikini line was still there and seemed to be growing. Well, we went about our vacation, scheduled an appointment and found ourselves in the first of MANY doctor appointments. I will forever be grateful for my PA and her sharpness because that woman knew what was going on. Sure enough, it was confirmed, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 3. In another word, cancer. Just what every 20 year-old wants to hear.
I found this out at my parents’ house, it was the first week of June, and I was going to be a senior in college. The next couple of weeks flew by, and I was starting my first treatment, the day after having my port placed. I am still not sure how that nurse got a needle through the swelling, but I don’t remember feeling a thing--physically, that is. Once the liquids started flowing, panic ensued, that is when I realized this was real. I am actually doing chemo and my life with cancer had begun.
I had an excellent oncologist who had scheduled my first treatment at the time of another girl with the same diagnosis and about my age. She calmed me down (and the nurses gave me some extra meds) and we talked. I got to ask my questions. She gave me a foundation to build on, to remember I still had a life, and it didn’t have to be about cancer.
Now, my parents were both with me, and they probably remember things differently than I do. Some highlights, I spent my 21st birthday in the hospital for a surgical checkup. I got to know wonderful nurses, and we grew as a family. Then came time for school. Thankfully, my beautiful sister decided to go to school in a neighboring community. I was doing treatments every other week and had around four months left of treatments. She made it to every one of them and spent the night with me to make sure there were no complications. My brother clearly took care of my mom and dad at home ensuring they were entertained.
Come October 21, 2015, I was told I had a clear scan, with a small bit of uptake from the "stretch marks” on the lymph nodes where the tumor had originated, but we are still going to continue treatments. I didn’t miss out on life, just had to learn a lot about myself, including insecurities and the strength of my own will. I was not the same person when I finished in 2015 as when I started. I am proud of that girl, but she had a lot more to learn.
So, where was God in all of this? I believe he was in my family and in my community. That year of school I was about ready to join the US Navy. I wanted to be stationed anywhere tropical. Instead I fought cancer. Now, this is when I began to realize God's signs were like knocks on the head sometimes. Clearly, I was not meant to join the Navy. I graduated college from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Exercise Health Science in four years and a summer, while doing four months of chemotherapy during that time. I am also proud of that. I learned my strength and gained confidence in myself.
Cancer details for reference: Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymph nodes. I was stage 3 and was told I "lit up like a Christmas tree" in my PET scans. Stage 3 meant the cancer was spread on either side of my diaphragm but not in other organs. I did not have bulky tumor, but the largest cluster of cancer was in my chest just behind my sternum near my thymus gland. My treatment plan was ABVD, and I had 12 treatments each taking about four hours every other week if my blood work was good. Nausea was handled fairly well except my tolerance for prefilled saline syringes. I tended to throw up after that, and no amount of jolly ranchers would help. I never felt sick or had any other signs of having cancer other than the "bump" on my bikini line.
If you have family or friends who could relate to this story or are going through something similar, feel free to share with them! My contact information is on the website, and I am always willing to chat! Please understand I am not a doctor and am going off memory. Treatments have greatly changed in eight years and this is my experience. There are six months’ worth of stories and interactions I hope will come out with time. I hope you will stay along this ride with me!