My Cancer Journey

At the end of 2022, my sister was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I made the comment that sisters never battle alone and told her that I would be there to help her when she needed me to.

A Year of Health Challenges

At the beginning of 2023, I started getting a lot of sinus infections along with other infections and was sick a lot with colds and that. At the end of September of that year, I noticed a lump around the size of a pea that had popped up in my groin area. The doctor thought it was due to my infection and told me that if it got bigger to come back.

It stayed the same size until March of this year, when I realized that it was golf-ball size. My doctor ordered a biopsy with the local surgeon, and they removed the node but discovered an even bigger one behind it.

A Difficult Diagnosis

I got the confirmation on April 3rd. Although I already knew that I had blood cancer due to my symptoms, the diagnosis hit me hard. I was diagnosed with stage 3 follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with bulky disease, as the big lymph node was over 12 cm and was pressing on my other organs.

Sadly, they think that I have thyroid cancer also, along with my aortic heart valve malfunctioning.

Coping with Fatigue and Finding Gratitude

It has been extremely hard on me, as the fatigue from treatments and my other health issues is horrific. I have been angry with my diagnosis because I wanted to help my sister with her battle, and I can't like I want to.

I do feel grateful, however, as I haven’t been sick and I haven’t lost my hair like she has.

My advice for others is to press on the best you can and never be afraid to reach out to others for help and support.