It was a Friday night. Rob and I went out to eat. It was the first really chilly night of fall, so I wore a scarf. I was fixing my scarf while waiting for dinner and there it was.... A lump right where my neck meets my body on the right side. I made Rob feel it and just brushed it off, thinking huh that is weird.
When I got to work on Monday, Juliann joked with me about my lump and we named it Wilson. All my friends at work said that I should get my lump checked out. So, I went to Dr. Gallus that Thursday and by the next week I got a CT scan.
One of my best friends Amanda came with me to my follow up appointment with my doctor. I figured I was just going to be handed some antibiotics and say see you later, but I got the exact opposite. I was told my CT scan did not look good and the primary suspicion was lymphoma. The only way to find out for sure was a to have a biopsy of the lump. Prior to getting the biopsy scheduled, I also had a PET scan. It would take a little over a week to finally get into surgery for my biopsy. Dr. Domet biopsied my lymph node on the right side of my neck. Afterwards, he came out and told me he was not a pathologist, but to him it looked like lymphoma. The next 2 days were just a waiting game...
The moment you actually find out for sure you have cancer is not as upsetting as one might think. It is more like a calm before the storm. The day I found out started out like any other day. Woke up and went to work. I was looking through my chart online to see if my PET scan came back. It was not posted to my chart, but my pathology report was up from my biopsy. There it was in big bold letters CLASSIC HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA. I went and got two of the nurses I work with, Juliann and Catherine, to make sure I was not dreaming. When people hug you and say I'm sorry after just reading your report, you know it is not good. I went home right away because my amazing sis and mother came to be with me. I did not even get a call from a doctor until later that afternoon. Not the way I wanted to learn I had cancer.
The picture below, I like to think, is classic me. I HATE IVs, I HATE needles, and this was just a really crappy moment. I am still trying to make light of the situation. This is my bone marrow biopsy day. This procedure by far was one of the worst days. I highly recommend if you are ever asked to do this, make sure you are put under. They biopsy your bone marrow from your hip bone and I was lucky enough to get it done to both of my hip bones :).
I want to end this post saying thank you to my wonderful loving family. We may not be big, but I would not change you for the world!!!! Shelly you are the best sister I could ever ask for… you are my rock. Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, Rob, who would do anything for me to make my life better. Thanks to my outstanding friends. Finally thank you to everyone who has texted, emailed, Facebooked, sent me flowers, cards, and calls. They all really mean so much to me.
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