I'm sitting at home and the lumps are multiplying and getting bigger. It started with two lumps - one behind each ear. It's now February 2021 and these invasive lumps have sprung up all over my collarbone. I return to my doctor and show him what's happening. He decided to send me for an ultrasound to see if there is anything that needs further investigation. After my ultrasound, the report came in and it didn't show anything of urgency. The radiologist suggestion was that I return in thirty days so see if the lumps had changed.
I went home and prayed. I felt a grave concern. Through prayer and reading my bible I heard the Lord speak to me in my spirit and tell me I will have to "fight for my life for 6 months." I put this in quotes, but no, I did not hear an audible voice. I simply felt this in my spirit. The more you pursue the Lord and the closer you get in your relationship with him, the more intimate your time with Him becomes.
I returned after my second ultrasound and the radiologist reported the same thing again: lumps have doubled in size, repeat in thirty days. This happened two or three more times throughout a course of months. I kept returning to my GP in hopes he could do more. I KNEW something was not right.
Finally, my doctor got fed up with the radiologist's reports and put in an urgent request for me to be seen by a specialist and have one of the lumps biopsied. He said he was not too concerned, but because they were doubling so quickly it was best to put our minds at rest.
Now, you may be thinking...your doctor should have done more. How could he have let this go on for so long without any other investigation? Well, he did. He screened me for any and all other symptoms associated with what he thought may be lymphoma. I had no night sweats, I didn't have any itchiness on my body, no unexplained fever, and no unexplained weight loss. The only symptom I seemed to possess (aside from being lumpy and bumpy!) was being incredibly tired ALL-THE-TIME! However, the constant fatigue was routinely passed off because I "had gone back to university full time, was homeschooling four children, along with all my regular responsibilities as a wife and mother."
This is where I tell you all to please advocate for yourself! You know your body and it is too easy for us to allow others to dismiss our concerns. My fatigue was not just "normal" fatigue. It had gotten to the point where I could not even bend over to pick up a piece of paper because it was too energy consuming.
After finally getting to the hospital to have a biopsy it was May or June of 2021. The height of covid. In Canada, no one could come in with you. Jesus was the ONLY one I had to sustain me as I underwent multiple tests. These tests included:
- A biopsy of a lump under my armpit and on my collarbone
- Two CT scans with contrast
- A PET scan
Finally it was time to meet with my hematologist/oncologist. The results were in. I didn't just have cancer, I had stage 4 non-hodgkin's lymphoma. It was now July 2021. It had taken from January until July to get a proper diagnosis. The cancer was everywhere. It was in my lymph nodes, spleen, liver, kidney, abdomen and bone marrow. C'est horrible!
I was sitting in a room at the cancer hospital waiting to speak with my new team of doctors. When they entered and the conversation began, I held on to Jesus for strength. I was not sure what was going to happen next. It was explained to me that hodkgin's lymphoma they could cure, but follicular non-hodkgin's lymphoma they cannot. They can put it to "sleep" or suppress it for a time but not completely rid my body of it. They went on to tell me I could live many years before it returns if chemotherapy is successful. Now, remember: THEY say they cannot cure it. But JESUS can. And I continue to believe and pray to this day that I will never see the likes of this cancer again. It was also explained to me that stage 4 does not mean the same thing with blood cancers. It did not mean I was closer to death, or that I was terminal. It simply meant the cancer had spread to more places (ie. organs, instead of staying just in my lymphatic system.)
Now remember -- I am not a doctor, or a nurse or anything involved with the medical field. In fact, I was a fainter. Blood makes me queasy, and I have no desire to learn about these things. SO if I get terminology wrong or mispronounce something please forgive me. I do my best with what I know and remember!
A still shot from the video I took of my doctors explaining my diagnosis to me
I placed my phone on my lap and recorded my doctors explaining my diagnosis and treatment plan. This way I was able to share with my family, and they would know what I knew since I could not have them there with me.
Next...treatment commenced!