Hodgkin's Lymphoma Current Status Report Last Updated: Thursday, April 20, 2000 The place for the latest on my health only - hopefully this will save some of you the trouble of a phone call!
My Cancer Journal Last Updated: Saturday, March 2, 1999 These are more in-depth reflections on this whole crazy experience.
Photos!! Last Updated: Tuesday, July 20, 1999 A picture's worth a thousand words, so here's some I took along the way.
Hodgkins and Cancer Resources These are the most useful 'Net resources I've found to help me with everything I never wanted to know about cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
On May 7th, 1998, I went to the doctor's for what I expected to be a routine check-in for a few minor symptoms I was having. After feeling rundown and fatigued off and on for just over a month I noticed a couple of lymph nodes in my neck that had swollen up considerably. I was not too concerned, even when the doctor ordered an immediate chest xray. However, about 15 minutes later the doctor came back in the room and told me "I believe you have lymphoma." He said it calmly and since I had no idea what lymphoma was, I assumed it was some kind of not too serious lymph gland disorder. I guess when he saw that I was not falling over or anything, he realized I didn't know what that meant and said "It's a form of cancer of the lymph system." As this penetrated my brain, he immediately followed that up by saying "But it's REALLY treatable and REALLY curable!"I know many of us fear more than anything hearing the dreaded "c" word from the doctor, and imagine that if we ever hear it, we might completely break down.
Instead I think I went into a state of mild shock that latest several days. It just couldn't seem to register to me that I might really have cancer at the age of 33. I had never spent a day in the hospital in my life, and have no history of cancer in my family. I drove home alone from the appointment, trying hard to not completely freak out. Thank god when I arrived home one of my closest friends was just pulling up in her car to say hi and see how my doctor's visit went. I dragged her into the house and proceeded to burst into tears on my couch as I told her "The doctor thinks I have cancer!"In the four weeks since my doctor's tentative diagnosis, I have begun receiving a crash course in life that has been intense, terrifying, and strangely liberating all at once. I have just started my journey down this rough road, but the good news is that I have everything going for me - good prognosis, my wonderful partner Shari, my supportive family and incredible friends, high quality health care and insurance, an understanding employment situation and a sense of optimism and hope that I'm determined to hang onto. I decided to create this web page for two purposes, to help my family and friends keep up to date on my progress easily, and also to infuse
a little much needed humor and storytelling into a real roller coaster ride. I also hope that other Hodgkins and cancer survivors can benefit from the information I'm gathering slowly but surely in this process."I say live, live because of the sun, the dream, the excitable gift." - Anne Sexton
Carpe Diem
Laura Tilsley
6/10/98
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