Becca's Journey:

I went to my doctor a few years back because I was having lower back pains. I work in a factory and what I do is very physically demanding, so I just thought I pulled my back. My doctor wanted me to do a CT scan and he then told me that my Lymph Nodes were swollen and I had to check it out. I made an appointment with an Oncologist at a hospital, but ended up cancelling my appointment because the city was a sheet of ice that day. Then, I ended up forgetting(when it was convienent) about the whole thing for the next two years, except in the back of my head and every night before I fell asleep, I used to wonder if I did have Lymphoma.

One morning I woke up in such immense pain coming from my lower right pelvis. I had already had my appendix taken out, so I made my boyfriend take me to the ER. We got there and were there for seven hours while they poked and prodded me and took a bunch of tests. They told me they didn't know why I was in pain, but that they could definitely feel a "tender lump." I went home and the doctor called me and told me that after having someone else review my tests, they saw that it was a swollen Lymph Node that was causing me all this pain.

So, it was at that point that I knew I had to do something about this and even though in my heart I knew it was Lymphoma, I denied it every step of the way. I had symptoms where lost my appetite, lost weight, had swollen Lymph Nodes on the left side of my neck, had night sweats, had itchy skin and always had low grade fevers. I made the phone call to get my biopsy done, knowing that no matter what happened, that I was going to see this through.

I was scheduled pretty quickly for the biopsy and before I knew it I was asking the surgeon if I could see the Lymph Node they took from my neck. It was weird, but cool. I won't go into detail so I won't gross anyone out. That stuff interests me :p On my way to work the next week my surgeon called me( my boyfriend said it was okay to call because my surgeon wanted us to come in way too early and we just couldn't do it. ) and told me that it was Hodgkin Lymphoma. He said it's highly treatable and he referred me to my hospital and Oncologist.

I started chemo March 26th, 2012 and go in once every two weeks. I have completed six out of 12 chemotherapy sessions and am looking forward to getting this over with! I should be done sometime in October.

My hair was falling out a lot, so I just shaved it. I had horrible mouth sores that prevented me from drinking, eating, sleeping, and speaking. What made a HUGE difference is called MAGIC MOUTHWASH! If you get mouth sores, ask your doctor or a nurse about magic mouthwash and gargle with 2tsp. every three to four hours for about four or five days! This has helped me so much! Other than that I get really tired and nauseous, I have incredibly strange, vivid dreams, and I get really forgetful and have a hard time concentrating, and I guess they call it "chemo brain"? I also deal with terrible constipation.