In 1990, at the age of 16, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with a tumor the size of a grapefruit growing around my heart. After six months of chemotherapy (every other week for three to five days at a time), and 30 days of radiation, I was in remission! Treatment in 1990 wasn't as targeted as it is today, so after the full blast of radiation to my chest/neck, I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018 at the age of 44 and am having my damaged thyroid removed and biopsied in a few months. Thankfully, the lung cancer was caught early, and after a lobectomy, I have remained lung cancer-free. In the last 35 years, since I was diagnosed, I have gone on to graduate from college, get married, have an amazing daughter, and have a great career. As I am entering the final phase of my career (hoping to retire in the next seven years), I am hoping to spend my time volunteering for Blood Cancer United (formerly LLS) and advocating for cancer patients and survivors!
Carrie
non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)
