Friday, February 4, 1994 was the day my life changed forever. I had gone into the hospital for a simple procedure to remove a cyst when the doctor came in and told me that they were not going to do the surgery. My chest x-ray indicated that I had a “mass” in the middle of my chest and that he thought it was a form of lymphoma. My first thought was ‘Oh my gosh, I’m 26 years old and I going to die’.
The following week was a whirlwind. When you’re told you have cancer your head just spins and you can’t think logically. My parents and I did research to find out more about this cancer and what my chances were. We finally decided that MD Anderson Cancer Center was the place for me to be treated.
My first visit to MD Anderson was long and filled with forms to fill out and tests to be conducted. Two days later I met my doctor for the first time. Dr. Frederick Hagemeister walked into the examination room and confirmed that I had Hodgkin’s disease, which is a form of lymphoma. I started to cry and he simply came over, put his arm around me and told me that in one year, I’ll look back on all of this as if it was all a bad dream. It was obvious from the start how knowledgeable he was with Hodgkin’s and best of all; he had a plan for me.
The plan was for me to receive chemotherapy for approximately 4 months then radiation treatments for another 2 months. “Yes”, I thought, “this is the man that is going to save my life”. Dr. Hagemeister explained to me that I would be receiving a “new” concoction of chemo that he had been using for several years with extraordinary results. Within days a long line catheter was placed in my arm and I had my first dose of chemo.
Chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells, but also kills your good cells in the process. Just before each chemo treatment, I would take a pill to keep me from getting sick. The bags were small but powerful yet I was happy that they were going into me. Knowing that as long as this ‘medicine’ was in my system it was killing off the cancer helped me to relax and let it do its thing. One treatment was spread out into two weeks. I would receive one bag of chemo and pills one day then two weeks later, I would return and receive the other two bags of chemo. A week later I would return and start the process over again. When I saw my doctor after the first round of chemo he was very happy with the results. My tumor had shrunk significantly and I hadn’t lost my hair.
Radiation treatment was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Your head is fitted with a mask like contraption then it is clamped down on a small metal table. Lines were drawn all over my chest, neck, and arms then a huge machine was lined up with the lines and hovered over my body. The technicians walked out of the ‘vault’ (as I called it) and closed the two-foot thick door behind them. The lights were dimmed and the machine was turned on. I couldn’t feel anything however I knew it was working when I started to get a taste of burned flesh in my mouth. I learned very quickly that I had to have gum in my mouth during radiation. The whole process took about 30-45 minutes but was grueling because I had to have the treatments 5 days a week for 4 weeks to my chest then for 3 weeks to my abdomen.
I am alive today because of Dr. Hagemeister, and the continued research into new ways to treat lymphoma. This experience has changed me in so many ways but most of all it has given me a sense of purpose in life. The ability to offer support to others that have been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and to help educate people is something I will continue to do for the rest of my life.
Most of all, Thank you to Meredith Baker for her dedication to this cause. Without people like her many lives wouldn’t have been saved including my own. She is a true hero.