Young Adult

Initially, I joked with my boss at work about the lymph node swelling in my neck and about taking another sick day off. I finally decided to see my primary care physician about it, who is typically very jovial. That day he wasn't joking much and referred me to a local ENT. Every test and scan from that first opinion pointed to a malignancy.

What started as an internship opportunity turned into so much more for Tasnim Al-Smadi when she began working with LLS in the summer of 2021. Tasnim, who is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, was initially drawn to an internship at LLS because she is interested in working at a non-profit healthcare organization after graduation.

On September 5, 2019, my world was forever flipped upside down. I heard the words, “This looks like signs and patterns of lymphoma cancer.” I froze at that moment and kept hearing the word cancer over and over again. Tears streamed down my face, and I remember everything else the ER doctor said was just gibberish to me. How could I have cancer?

I was diagnosed with stage 3 follicular lymphoma (FL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), at the end of 2017, and our world was turned upside down. I lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, stayed active, and ate well. I never thought I would be diagnosed with cancer until I received the phone call from my hematologist/oncologist late on a Friday night.

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on December 4, 2003, at the age of five. As a young child, I was very energetic and loved to do anything outdoors and active, and I especially loved a good competition with my older brother Harrison.

November 2007 was the start of my journey as a cancer warrior and survivor. I was diagnosed with Diffused Large B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and it is incredible for me to reflect on the fact that I am coming up on my 15^th year anniversary of diagnosis and treatment.