My journey with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) started in 2015 when my spouse was diagnosed with orbital lymphoma.
I have been working in the oncology field for the past 20 years. Hearing the words my spouse has cancer was scary. After meeting with the oncologist who said he did not need treatments and that he could take the watch-and-wait approach was great news. Proudly he got to the five year benchmark and he is well.
Then, in 2019 I started to have abdominal issues. Pain, pressure in my abdomen as well as in my back. We did multiple scans--all negative. Yeah!
Then in January 2020, I knew something was not right. My energy level was zilch! I am an avid runner, but I had no appetite,my stomach felt bloated all the time. I was a mess.
I then asked my medical team to do more extensive testing. I was devastated to find out I had lymphoma follicular in the abdomen.
I knew something was wrong. Sadly my scans from December revealed I had a mass.
These last two years have thrown my life into a nightmare. I went through the pandemic receiving chemotherapy alone. No family member could be with me. Emotional and mentally I'm not the same the person I was before getting this news.
I had treatment--Rituxan and Bendamustine. Sadly the pandemic in New York City kept halting my treatments.
Here I am today finished with my treatments. The support of LLS has been beyond exceptional. I could not have gone through this journey in my life without you all. I'm forever grateful for all your support.
Diane
Follicular lymphoma
