Susan

I had a hard time getting diagnosed, because my symptoms didn’t present as cancerous. Initially the doctors said I was upset because two years before my son passed away from Neuroblastoma. I tried to go along with what the doctors said (who wants to hear they have cancer?), but when the symptoms persisted, I went back and insisted that they do a biopsy. Two weeks later, I got diagnosed with late stage 3 Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It was horrifying!!! I had been posted to the other side of the country from my family, my marriage broke down, and my surviving son was still dealing with the loss of his brother. How was I going to deal with this so far from family in a place where I knew no one? I went through my chemo and had a bone marrow transplant. This July will be 22 years cancer free. I went back to full duty in the military and served a further 11 years before retiring (21 years service in total). I’m now a reflexology therapist, which I used during my chemo with great results. I still have issues with my digestion, and if I get a cold it settles right in my chest. My surviving son (he has Aspergers) is in college and life is really good. Being a cancer survivor means Everything to me!!!!! When I was told I needed a bone marrow transplant, we discovered that my two sisters were perfect matches. The date of my transplant (and my cancer free date) would have been my younger son’s 5th birthday.