The Story So Far...
Many of you here in Boston have expressed interest in hearing about my experience with cancer. Below is my story. After reading it, please click on over to my fundraising page here and sponsor me for the Boston Marathon. For those who lived through it with me, you have heard it all before so you can stop reading now.
In the spring of 2001, I went to the doctor to see what was wrong with me. I hadn't been feeling quite right for awhile and just thought I had a sinus infection. My doctor agreed with me and put me on antibiotics for it.
A week later, I had an allergic reaction to the medication and was told to stop taking it. I felt a bit better and so I just went on with my life. About a month later, my tonsils started to swell up and my ears became plugged up like they do when you have swelling in your sinuses. I went back to the doctor who then decided I had tonsillitis. I was put on another set of antibiotics which I also had an allergic reaction to. I was tested for a number of things; from diabetes to syphilis (?!?). A needle biopsy was taken of the swollen lymph nodes in my neck. The results came back "inconclusive." They decided once again on tonsillitis and the remedy would be a tonsillectomy.
By this time, my tonsils were swollen to the point where I could not eat. The space between them was the size of an ink pen. They expected to do a tracheotomy during the surgery so I would not suffocate. 3 days before my scheduled surgery, one of my tonsils absest postponing the surgery and probably saving my life. The head ENT took one look at me and asked why no one had taken a piece of the tonsil itself for a biopsy. Jackpot!
On September 12, 2001, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma-6 months after my diagnosis of a "sinus infection." The gallium scan showed I had tumors covering my sinus cavity, in my tonsils, all across my chest and in most of my lymph nodes. I was given a 30% chance of survival. I refused to accept those odds.
I was admitted to the hospital the next morning and immediately started on a combination of chemotherapy and a drug called Rituxan. I will from this point forward refer to Rituxan as my miracle drug. Within 24 hours, the swelling in my tonsils went down, allowing me to hear and breath again. I went through 15 weeks of treatment and more than one trip to the emergency room. There were many times I thought I wouldn't make it out of that emergency room but I refused to give in. When the doctors took another gallium scan at about week 13, there was not a trace of the cancer left in my body. The doctors were so astounded that I became a case study for the CA tumor board. I am happy to say I have been cancer free for almost 7 years.
This is why I celebrate my 40th birthday by running the Boston Marathon. I won't break any records, but I will finish the thing. Please click over to my fundraising page and sponsor me and AIDS Action Committee. I thank you for your support!
In the spring of 2001, I went to the doctor to see what was wrong with me. I hadn't been feeling quite right for awhile and just thought I had a sinus infection. My doctor agreed with me and put me on antibiotics for it.
A week later, I had an allergic reaction to the medication and was told to stop taking it. I felt a bit better and so I just went on with my life. About a month later, my tonsils started to swell up and my ears became plugged up like they do when you have swelling in your sinuses. I went back to the doctor who then decided I had tonsillitis. I was put on another set of antibiotics which I also had an allergic reaction to. I was tested for a number of things; from diabetes to syphilis (?!?). A needle biopsy was taken of the swollen lymph nodes in my neck. The results came back "inconclusive." They decided once again on tonsillitis and the remedy would be a tonsillectomy.
By this time, my tonsils were swollen to the point where I could not eat. The space between them was the size of an ink pen. They expected to do a tracheotomy during the surgery so I would not suffocate. 3 days before my scheduled surgery, one of my tonsils absest postponing the surgery and probably saving my life. The head ENT took one look at me and asked why no one had taken a piece of the tonsil itself for a biopsy. Jackpot!
On September 12, 2001, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma-6 months after my diagnosis of a "sinus infection." The gallium scan showed I had tumors covering my sinus cavity, in my tonsils, all across my chest and in most of my lymph nodes. I was given a 30% chance of survival. I refused to accept those odds.
I was admitted to the hospital the next morning and immediately started on a combination of chemotherapy and a drug called Rituxan. I will from this point forward refer to Rituxan as my miracle drug. Within 24 hours, the swelling in my tonsils went down, allowing me to hear and breath again. I went through 15 weeks of treatment and more than one trip to the emergency room. There were many times I thought I wouldn't make it out of that emergency room but I refused to give in. When the doctors took another gallium scan at about week 13, there was not a trace of the cancer left in my body. The doctors were so astounded that I became a case study for the CA tumor board. I am happy to say I have been cancer free for almost 7 years.
This is why I celebrate my 40th birthday by running the Boston Marathon. I won't break any records, but I will finish the thing. Please click over to my fundraising page and sponsor me and AIDS Action Committee. I thank you for your support!
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