Choosing a care team

Because of the sun damage to my skin over the years, I started having yearly, whole-body exams in my late 40s. I was determined to stay on top of this thing. Over the years, it was not uncommon for me to have numerous keratoses (pre-cancerous spots) frozen off my hands, arms and face. I felt I was being vigilant and prudent. Then several years …

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My diagnosis

I’m very fair skinned, of Irish decent. Having spent ten years, in my 20s, living at the beach in Southern California, I was not surprised to get a biopsy result telling me that a spot on the back of my left hand was positive for skin cancer. I always suspected that this would happen someday. (I turned 65 in July, and my type of skin cancer (S…

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Going through treatment

Surgery

[Brad sent an e-mail out after surgery to give everyone an update]

Hello All,

Beth had her surgery today and all went well. Beth’s spirits are good.

As a precaution they put in a drain and as such they have admitted Beth to ensure it is working properly and show her how to look after it. We expect she will get out of the …

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Telling Family & Friends

Telling the Boys

How to tell the boys (Zach is 14, Carter is 11)… The day after I got the diagnosis, Zach was going away snowboarding for 3 days. We decided to wait until he got back to tell them. Saturday afternoon – we are sitting around chatting, so I say ‘I need to tell you guys something’. Zach immediately said ‘I don’t think I want to…

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Worrying

Worrying (Dec 2008)

I first found a lump in November, 2008, in my armpit. I noticed it while I was applying deodorant. It was the size of my baby finger nail, and smooth. I figured it must be a swollen lymph node or gland or something so I ignored it. A couple of weeks went by, and it was still there. I knew I had to tell my husband, and the …

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Planning for the future

I am currently enrolled to begin the Music Therapy graduate program at Florida State University in January 2010. I have applied for a cancer scholarship. My plan is to stay in remission, attend school, and live a beautiful life! I would also possibly like to take a trip to NYC to see my sister and some friends this fall. Also, possibly, I would …

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Paying for treatment

I am very, very grateful to say that I have awesome parents who happen to have good insurance! I don’t know what I would do without them! I may only be on their plan until the end of the year, when we will have to figure something else out. The bottom line here is I am very, very lucky and blessed to not have to deal with the financial aspects o…

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Living with cancer

One thing about my perspective that has changed as I go through this experience, is I realize what a blessing it is to be healthy. How blessed I have been, how much I took for granted, and how stubborn I was/am with life! God gives me so much and so generously, yet it was hard for me not to be jealous, want more, or want something else. I am gla…

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Going through treatment

The most difficult thing for me about going through treatment has been the feeling of disruption and uncertainty. It feels like my life has been put on pause on a spot that is not particularly pleasant and comfortable. That has been challenging. I don’t enjoy the feeling of the toxic chemicals in my body and as I mentioned earlier, I struggle wi…

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Evaluating treatment options

The first research I did was to read up on Hodgkin’s Lymphoma online. The treatment for the type and stage of my cancer is pretty standard, so there was not a difficult decision to be made regarding the first step: six cycles of ABVD. However, there is a decision coming up that is going to be a bit tricky. With tumors as large as mine (with one …

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