In November of 2021, I found a lump on my neck that lead me to my primary care doctor's walk-in clinic due to the amount of growth I had seen over a few weeks. I believed it to be related to thyroid or my previous diagnosis of lupus of the skin, which I later found out I did not actually have. The doctor at the clinic sent me for a CT scan of my neck and an ultrasound at which point it was determined that I had lymphoma. I received a few more CT scans that showed more masses in my lungs and the majority of my upper body. I met with an oncologist who diagnosed my cancer as stage 4a nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). I started treatment via 4 chemotherapy drugs (ABVD) at the end of January 2022. I had promising PET scans throughout the length of my treatment that proved that the chemo was working.
I struggled with catching COVID twice during my treatment and being hospitalized due to bleomycin toxicity. I wrapped up chemo at the end of June 2022, after a total of twelve infusions. I celebrated my 26th birthday one-month post-chemo and am officially in remission. I am about 8 months post chemo and finally feeling like myself again. I was able to attend the Light The Night (LTN) event in Nashville TN in October of 2022 and was able to stand in the survivor circle and see just how big of an impact my life and everyone who is affected by cancer's life has on the caretakers and survivors.
Riley
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)
