This is one of those ones that I haven’t told many people. My wife and kids know, my extended family knows, and a doctor in Tucson, Arizona knows.
I am a cancer survivor.
I was single and living alone in Arizona in 1983 and started developing some symptoms that I totally ignored. I was losing weight but not trying (like that would ever happen without trying). I would wake up in the morning with the sheets totally soaked from night sweats. But I just let it go since I was feeling ok. No other symptoms and quite frankly losing weight was (and still is) a good thing for me.
About 3 months later I woke up one morning and went in the bathroom to find a grapefruit sized lump hanging off the side of my neck. Even I knew that this was not just swollen glands. I made an appointment with a doctor who had never gone to even though I lived in Tucson for 3 years. One quick look at my neck and he immediately made me an appointment with an oncologist.
After some tests with the oncologist, I was scheduled for surgery on my neck to remove the enlarged nodes. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Disease. Lots of questions swimming around in my head but no google, wedmd or for that matter internet where I can get more information from. I had to totally rely on this doctor who I had just met to accurately assess my situation and to treat it.
I began chemotherapy the following week. Because of the advanced stage of this disease, I probably wouldn’t respond to radiation so that wasn’t an option. My biggest concern during this time was not survival rate, it wasn’t how or why this happened. My biggest concern was that I not lose my hair. Not a proud moment.
To be continued…
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