Cancer Story

In December of 1999 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 19. I did not feel sick and had only a persistent cough for a few months. I visited two doctor’s offices three times before this and was diagnosed with bronchitis and sent home with antibiotics. Finally I had an earache and decided to visit a family doctor instead of the campus doctors. (Being 19 you can’t see your pediatrician anymore…nor is finding a primary physician a top priority in college!)

I made an appointment with a doctor in my parent’s physician practice for two days after Christmas. By that time my earache had gone away but I kept the appointment because of the persistent and productive cough. Dr. Bean (whom I selected only because of his name) heard wheezing in my right lung and ordered a chest x-ray immediately. Within an hour my family and I were in his office discussing the large mass and enlarged nodes found in my chest. I immediately was sent for a cat scan and a biopsy over the next two days. The tests confirmed that there was a 9 x 4 inch mass in my chest consistent with Hodgkin’s Disease.

I was referred to an oncologist at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. I would begin Stanford V (five) chemotherapy within a week. I’ll never forget this day…January 11th. The Standford V chemo cocktail consisted of twelve consecutive weeks of chemotherapy followed by four weeks of daily radiation.

The first six weeks of chemo went fairly well. Only a few set backs due to low blood counts. I was put on growth factors (injections) for both my white and red blood cells. The last six weeks I had severe body and joint pain, terrible mouth sores and a blood transfusion. I was hospitalized twice for high fevers and low blood counts. I never threw up once but consider me to have a very tough stomach.

Aside from the cooked skin and peeling sunburn, radiation was a breeze. I did experience a sore throat in my third week. The bad thing about radiation was the lines they had to draw on my chest and neck. I was not allowed to wash these areas of my body. I looked like a two year old who had gone crazy with a magic marker.

On May 19, 2000, I had successfully completed chemotherapy and radiation. Follow up scans now only detect what is perceived as small amounts of scar tissue. Because of the radiation, I will never have what looks like a normal chest x-ray. I continue to return to what is now Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO for my yearly follow up blood work. Additionally, because of the high doses of radiation to my chest in 2007 I started needing yearly mammograms and breast MRIs. These yearly check ups are a constant reminder of how I kicked cancers butt.