Adults

In 2012, I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. I had 10 rounds of radiation and six treatments of chemotherapy (R-Chop). It was a very rough journey, however, by the grace of God, the love of family, and of course, the wonderful doctors and advances in cancer treatments I persevered through.

In the 1990’s, I was diagnosed with benign monoclonal gammopathy. In April 2013, I was experiencing severe back pain that lead me to the ER. The results of the x-rays lead me to seek medical treatment from a hematologist/oncologist. The bone marrow biopsy result confirmed multiple myeloma.

In October 2015, after a trip to the ER with pain in my abdomen, I was diagnosed with stage 3, large B cell, multiple location, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

My oncologist originally told me that the treatment plan would include 10 chemotherapy rounds, followed with radiation. I was out of work for eight weeks until my doctor decided I was in good enough health to return work.

It's not easy being bald, a bald physician, and a bald wife. This is my third dance with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). I first met HL in college, as many young girls meet their first pivotal relationship. Sadly for me, I attended an all woman's college, so my pivotal 'boyfriend' came in the form of a first cancer diagnosis.

One morning in June 2012, I woke up at at 3 a.m. with severe back pain and went straight to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with kidney stones, but as I read the scan report I noticed it had a footnote which said “bone lesions”. I showed this to my primary care doctor who then ordered blood work and referred me to an oncologist. Three weeks later, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

My father, Paul Scolaro, took advantage of every second he had on this earth. A former student at the School of Visual Arts, Art Director and Storyboard Artist, my father taught us to notice the beauty in everything.

I am a 26-year survivor of 4B Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and a 21-year survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

I was 41 years old when I was first diagnosed, and I had three young children back then. Treatment was tough, but my husband was by my side every step of the way, and it made a big difference.

My son was rubbing my shoulders and noticed a lump on the side of my neck which freaked him out.  He then told my wife about it and they demanded that I go have it checked. In November 2013, I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

I was losing the battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma in August of 2013 when I ran across this quote from Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I decided to adopt this as my standard to live by.