At age 60, I stopped working as a full-time physical therapist and started working PRN at two different facilities. My reasoning was I could help my elderly but healthy parents when needed and help out with my grandkids. Everything was going great until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was laid off from both jobs. My father was very afraid of COVID-19 and wouldn’t let my mom leave the house, so I started doing all of their shopping. I had been fatigued for months but attributed this to work or being out of shape. I was alarmed when even shopping made me tired. Then I started having shortness of breath and an accelerated resting heart rate. After almost collapsing while cycling with my 15-year-old granddaughter, I made an appointment with my primary care physician. My suspicion of being anemic was correct. However, my labs were very confusing to my doctor, so he referred me to a hematologist/oncologist. Meanwhile, my mom, who was 84 and still push mowing her lawn, started complaining of pain in her right side and bloating. Mom was diagnosed with stage 1 pancreatic cancer. Her prognosis looked good, but she died from surgical complications on June 3, 2020. Three weeks later, I received my diagnosis of stage 4 mantle cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (MCL). My family was devastated.
My oncologist, Dr. Mariann Harrington, felt that since I was so healthy and relatively young, she could treat my cancer very aggressively. She hit me hard with R-CHOP chemotherapy. I lost all my hair after my second treatment. I never cried over the hair loss or my diagnosis. I was just thankful it was me and not my kids or grandkids who were sick. I had faith that God would get me through this valley. I went into remission and completed chemo on November 3, 2020.
Because MCL nearly always relapses, Dr. Harrington felt like I would be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant. She referred me to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Cancer Institute. I met with Dr. Mutha Veeraputhiran who agreed I needed a stem cell transplant but thought the transplant needed to be done quickly. I had an autologous stem cell transplant on December 21, 2020. I was in the hospital accompanied only by my husband, who couldn’t leave my room, from December 15, 2020, until January 2, 2021. This meant my family had to have their first Christmas not only without my mom but also without my husband and me. I decided missing one Christmas with the possibility of having many more to celebrate together was worth it.
I am now a year post-transplant, still in remission, and doing fantastic. Over this past year, I have spent treasured time with my family and friends, gone on trips, kayaked, cycled, hiked/backpacked, and played pickleball. I never wanted to have cancer, especially a rare blood cancer, but I have learned so much. Cancer has shown me how very blessed I am and how strong I can be. It has also taught me to never take anything or anyone for granted, to trust God, and to never give up.
Barbara
Mantle cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (MCL)
