I want to share my blood cancer journey. It all started back in October 2019 when I was at Gonzaga University. I started to experience the symptoms that I’m sure we’re all far too familiar with ― stomach pain, digestive problems, nausea, chest pain, and fatigue, all of which I was dealing with in addition to 20+ hours a week of tennis practice and a 15-credit class load.
It wasn’t long before my coaches, friends, and family started to take notice of this shift in my demeanor. But every test came back normal. I was at a loss. At this point, I thought it was just a bad, generalized anxiety disorder. So, I was started on a regimen of anti-anxiety medication and weekly therapy sessions, as well as taking the rest of the semester off from tennis. Yet, my symptoms just continued to worsen.
It wasn’t until sometime later at a doctor's appointment that I got referred to a family medicine doctor. They ran more tests, including a chest X-ray where on January 2, 2020, they found a mass on the left side of my chest under my esophagus. The biopsy came back on January 10 officially diagnosing me with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
After the initial shock, confusion, frustration, anger, and the spiraling questions of why me and what did I do to deserve this, I hit the ground running. Diving headfirst into six rounds of intense chemotherapy left me tired, nauseated, and depressed. But come May 3, I had finished my last round of chemotherapy.
Although it took a while for the cancer to disappear from my body, on November 19, 2020, I was officially in remission. I’m not someone to let my diagnosis define me. I wasted no time getting back to doing what I love. I went on to study abroad, getting my Master of Science in Marketing, I played another year of competitive tennis and took time to travel the world.
I also got involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I participated and raised over $30,000 for the Visionaries of the Year (VOY) campaign in 2021, winning team member of the year. I also supported my sister’s winning Student of the Year campaign in 2022. And I was asked to be the Honored Hero for Light The Night (LTN)!
I hope that my story encourages other cancer patients to focus on building themselves up and not on negative intrusive thoughts that can worm their way into the back of our minds.
Katie
primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL)
