III. My Not-So-Lovely Lady Lump

"Don't ignore lumps and bumps!" One of the best pieces of advice, and arguably one that saved my life, was from my Memom. If you read my first blog post, you may remember me mentioning that she was my grandma. Yes, I may be a bit biased, but she was without a doubt one of the most amazing women I have ever known. Smart, charismatic, hilarious, breathtakingly beautiful, and strong are just a few words that come to mind when I think of her. As I mentioned previously, Memom was also diagnosed with HL in her 20's. However, unlike me, she was diagnosed at a very late stage - being overlooked and misdiagnosed by medical professionals for well over a year. When she finally received her diagnosis, doctors were astounded to find a mass, the size of a grapefruit, in her chest. As you can imagine, cancer research and care was not as advanced in the 1960's, and because of this, instead of receiving chemotherapy my Memom underwent surgery to remove the mass of cancerous lymph nodes. In order to make sure all of the cancer cells were gone, she also received high-intensity cobalt radiation to kill off any lingering invaders. Memom fought and won her battle with HL; however, due to the damaging effects of the radiation on her chest, she was diagnosed with two different forms of breast cancer later in life (which she also beat), as well as lung cancer, which took her life on July 26, 2016.

You may be wondering why I am telling you all of this. Well, for one, it makes me feel like a very lucky and proud granddaughter to have been related to such a strong woman. Two, I think it's important to highlight the advancements in cancer care that has happened within the last 60 years. Three, while my family has always been open about discussing my Memom's battles with cancer, I do greatly wish that I could talk to her, knowing what I know now about HL, and share our stories.

Speaking of stories, let's get back to my story. Where were we? Oh yes. "The lump". I'm not going to lie, as a hypochondriac I immediately began to panic. I mean, noticing just the lump would have been one thing, but the lump accompanied by my intense fatigue, inability to shake off my lingering cold, odd itchy legs, and uncharacteristic fullness had me in a bit of a tizzy. I wanted to go see my doctor. And after showing my mom the lump, she agreed that was the best choice. That afternoon, my mom, my boyfriend, and I took a group trip to see my primary care physician (teamwork makes the dream work right?). At this point, my family and I were convinced I had mono. What else could possibly explain my symptoms? Turns out, our hypothesis wasn't too far off. After my doctor examined me she agreed that it could possibly be mono. She decided to take a complete blood count (CBC), where they would test measures and features of my blood including white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets. From the blood sample, they also tested my thyroid and conducted a mononucleosis test. I went home that night feeling tired, but hopeful. Hopeful that the blood test would come back positive for mono.

The very next day, which I have written down in my notebook as Tuesday, March 26th, I received a call from my doctor's office that my blood work came back "perfect" and that the mono test was...DRUM ROLL... negative. Great! I should have been happy right? And part of me was. I didn't have mono and nothing in my blood work shouted "red flag". At this time, my doctor recommended that I keep an eye on the lump. If it was still there by the end of the week she wanted me to come in again for a second look.

Sure, that sounded like a good plan. But in my head I couldn't help but hear my Memom's wise words - "Don't ignore lumps and bumps".