In the fall of 2023, I noticed my right tonsil started growing pretty large. I thought it was a weird thing, but didn’t think too much about it, until January of 2024 when it got so big I started having trouble swallowing. I saw two ENTs who assured me it was normal and not suspicious, and I was told the tonsil had to come out. In March, I underwent a tonsillectomy, and the surgeon agreed that my tonsil looked benign, and most likely was caused by an infection, but they would still send the tonsil to pathology as a routine procedure.
A week and a half later, I noticed a new test result in my inbox with many words that didn’t resonate with the doctor’s assurances that everything was fine – especially the phrase “B-cell neoplasm.” Less than a week later, at the age of 39, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. My world was turned upside down! I couldn’t believe it, I kept saying over and over again that I couldn’t have cancer because I felt fine. Unfortunately, it was true – the next thing I knew my world was filled with things like PET scans, fertility preservation, and plans for chemo.
I am currently undergoing chemo and have now completed three rounds. Based on my latest PET scan, which (thankfully!) showed tremendous progress, the plan is to have one more round of full chemo, followed by two rounds of immunotherapy. Chemo has been tough, especially dealing with nausea and fatigue, but I feel grateful that it is doing the job it needs to do.
One of my chemo drugs is nicknamed “The Red Devil,” because it’s bright red and has harsh side effects. Because it looks like Kool-Aid, I like to visualize the Kool-Aid man busting through my cancer cells like he does walls, yelling “Oh yeah!” every time he destroys another cancer cell.
Laura’s LifeList:
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An arcade machine