From Summer: Some may call this a setback. I choose to call it another opportunity to put God’s love and His plan on display. I am part of the rare 5% of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients who reach remission only to have their cancer return within 6 months.
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A note from Summer...
Some may call this a setback--I choose to call it another opportunity to put God’s love and His plan on display. I was diagnosed with stage 2 classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June of 2022 after not feeling like myself for a few months prior. While this was surprising, I wasn’t too unsettled by the news because I was told over and over again that it was a very treatable type of cancer. I also have a very strong faith, and while I sometimes questioned why this was happening to me specifically, I never once doubted that God had a plan for me through this news. After my diagnosis I went through about 3 months of standard chemotherapy treatment at the Hall Perrine Cancer Center in Cedar Rapids. I was shown overwhelming support by my family, my friends, the community of Mount Vernon, and so many others. The daily messages and letters I got were what really helped me through each chemo session. I was, and still am, extremely thankful for the love and prayers I felt poured into me at that time. By the beginning of October, I was declared to be in remission.
All my life I have been very active and always on the go. As soon as I received the news that I was in remission, I started working out again. I am a junior at Central College where I participate on the triathlon team. I was bound and determined to be ready to compete by the time the 2023 spring season rolled around. While working out consistently again was a challenge, it was something that I had been anxiously waiting for all summer, and I was excited to be back in the gym and weight room. After a good month and a half of normalcy, I was finally starting to feel like myself again! That’s when everything changed… again.
On December 20, I went back to Cedar Rapids for a PET scan because I had noticed another lump in my neck the past few weeks. I told myself multiple times that IT couldn’t be back again… at least not this soon. I was feeling a little worse, but nothing more than headaches and being slightly more tired than normal. I was so excited to go back to school in January with my brothers and friends. I kept denying what I knew was going to be true. On December 22, the results were back, and they showed what I had been telling myself wasn’t true. My cancer was back. I was, to be quite honest, devastated. This time hit much harder than my initial diagnosis in June. I had done everything right. I was even in remission, until I wasn’t.
My oncologist in Cedar Rapids referred us to Mayo to meet with the same oncologist we had seen at the start of the summer when we took a visit to Rochester. Here I was told that I am part of the rare 5% of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients who reach remission only to have their cancer return within 6 months. There is no way to determine this prior to receiving treatments. The amazing news is that we were able to get a treatment plan put into place quickly and that I will be starting that on January 13th. This will be very different from what I went through over the summer. I will be receiving care exclusively through the Mayo Clinic and my treatment schedule will be much longer. If all goes according to plan, I will work through 3 phases, with the first phase being about 9 weeks of driving back and forth to Mayo each week. The second phase is a complete 7 week stay in Rochester. Then the third phase is a maintenance phase for 16 weeks. This will be long, and it will be a battle, but after having some time to come to terms with everything that’s happened since December 22nd, I am not afraid or discouraged. My faith is still the same. I will not be shaken. I know that God has a plan for me that is much greater than my own plan for myself.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us this, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I will hold this promise close to my heart and pray that it comforts all of you as well.
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