Lymphoma

On January 3, 2020, I was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma(BL)with brain metastasis, and kidney and liver failure. During my four rounds of chemo, I had gone septic three different times, acquired nerve damage, and lost the ability to walk. After going into remission on August 6, 2020, I was tasked with relearning to walk. From April 2020 to January 2021. I was wheelchair-bound.

I often said that cancer showed up at the worst time for me. I was finishing my first year of medical school and was in the midst of a very busy season finishing all the planning for my upcoming wedding. But honestly, is there ever a good time for cancer to show up? Would it have been better five years later as a busy, working doc? Or even later on with kids to take care of? Likely not.

I was sitting alone in a stark, clean examination room on September 16, 2021, at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Brookline, Massachusetts when my oncologist walked in. I called my spouse and son on my cell phone so they could hear the results.

I am a 3-time Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivor. I underwent two stem cell transplants. The first transplant was my own stem cells, the second transplant was a donor transplant. My baby sister was my donor (she was a 6/6 match); I was very lucky. I underwent three years of radiation and chemotherapy and have been in remission now 12 years.

Christian Macias survived two battles with cancer, the first being in 2010. He was diagnosed with stage 2 Non-Hodgkin Burkitt’s lymphoma (NHL). He fought long and hard. Unfortunately, a few years later in 2017, his cancer came back in a different form. This time he was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Just three days after Christmas, my world was turned upside down. I was admitted to the hospital because I was unable to keep any food down and felt terrible overall. Upon admission, I had a multitude of issues, just a few being extremely high uric acid levels, severe dehydration, pancreatitis, and nephrosis. They also discovered that I had lost 20 lbs.!

In September 2017, I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), which is cancer that starts in the lymphatic system. My oncologist went over my treatment protocol, which included six months of chemotherapy treatments with one of the side effects of that regimen being hair loss. I was set to start chemo the morning afte

I am currently 23 years of age and I’m from South Africa. 

This is my story of my journey with Hodgkin lymphoma. This is a story of hope, a story of victory and a story meant to inspire those affected to keep holding on.