I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's B-Cell Lymphoma. I remember the day clearly. We all (mom, dad, Kim, George, Joe) loaded up in the Sequoia and headed up to see Dr. 'Chappie' Conrad at the University of Washington. We weren't quite sure what to expect. I was still in a tremendous amount of pain and unable to walk. All of us piled into the tiny exam room and waited for him to come in. I don't really remember how he said it but I don't think he came out and said I had cancer. I think he just said "non-Hodgkin's lymphoma." Never have heard of that before I didn't know what it really meant. But then he said we needed to meet with the oncologist and I would have to have chemo and radiation. So then I knew....I had cancer. I think when you're told something like this your body takes over and puts up a good defense. I didn't cry, I didn't feel anything. Totally numb. To this day, I still don't think it's really set in that I had cancer and am now a cancer survivor. It seems so surreal. I am SO thankful that I had such a good outcome. To me it was just like a fluke thing that happened. Like getting sick, it was just something I had to fight off and recover from. I think Dr. Nichols helped me be so positive about it. He has always said that the chances of it ever coming back are slim. Thank God!
When I was told I had cancer I didn't think I was going to die. The first thought that ran through my head was, "I'm not going to be able to have kids!" I've always wanted to be a mom and I couldn't imagine not being able to have children because of stupid cancer. Thankfully I found out about Fertile Hope. Because of Fertile Hope I was able to freeze eggs. It was the best insurance policy ever. I started treatment knowing that I had those in case I wasn't able to have kids.
Chances are you'll end up knowing someone in their child-bearing age that is diagnosed with cancer. If you do, please tell them about Fertile Hope. A lot of times doctors get rushed to start treating cancer without thinking about what could possibly happen to the persons fertility.
Two year check-up tomorrow!
When I was told I had cancer I didn't think I was going to die. The first thought that ran through my head was, "I'm not going to be able to have kids!" I've always wanted to be a mom and I couldn't imagine not being able to have children because of stupid cancer. Thankfully I found out about Fertile Hope. Because of Fertile Hope I was able to freeze eggs. It was the best insurance policy ever. I started treatment knowing that I had those in case I wasn't able to have kids.
Chances are you'll end up knowing someone in their child-bearing age that is diagnosed with cancer. If you do, please tell them about Fertile Hope. A lot of times doctors get rushed to start treating cancer without thinking about what could possibly happen to the persons fertility.
Two year check-up tomorrow!
3 comments:
Katie thank you for blogging about fertile hope I am sure we will have to tell someone about it all too soon...
I don't think you had cancer either. It was just a blip on the screen of life, that's all! So does that mean you're talking babieeees?
You have a Sequoia? I love Toyotas.
Cancer is a monster. I always wonder how it goes about when it chooses someone. My Mom had cancer. She was chosen February 12 2005 and she was taken March 16th, 2005.
take care.
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