My Inconvenient Journey Pt 1

Next week marks the beginning of, to quote a friend who's been through it, an inconvenient journey.

Last October, I was diagnosed with LG SIV FNHL.  (Low Grade, Stage 4 Follicular Non-Hogkin's Lymphoma)  Yes folks, that's cancer.  Now before you start flooding my inbox with questions...keep reading.

For those that see me often... I know I don't look sick and to tell you the truth I'm not.  I feel great.  I'm only showing signs of the disease (swollen lymph nodes) and not symptoms (night sweats, weight loss, fever...).  Which is great.  I've actually had signs for years, just didn't know it.  This lymphoma, to be clear, is very lazy, non-aggressive and takes years to develop and grow.

Back in Oct '11, before I moved to Brampton and met my husband and got married and... (read Solid Ground part 1 & 2), I had a lymph node check out at the ER.  Was told, you're fine...just fighting off a cold or a bug, eat lots of veggies and drink lots of water.  It'll be fine.  So I move on with life.  But, I have to say, I wasn't entirely convinced.  You know how sometimes you go through life and your just know.  Well, this was one of those times.  I knew that after years of always being sick, chronic stress and poor eating habits...that ER visit wouldn't be the last one.

But I tried to ignore my little voice (why do we do that?).  Until last summer when my husband took ill and I had to take over the household duties and the business duties and everything else in between.  Stress!!!  So my lymph nodes started multiplying and growing.  Early April...head off to get them check. Oh don't worry about it.  You're blood work is ok.  You've been under a lot of stress, they'll go down eventually.  Again, I was turned away.
Not until Sept when I was having terrible pain in my jaw and my throat felt like it's closing in on me, did my husband (all better now), take me to the ER and demanded we have x-rays and a CAT Scan done.  Meanwhile, all my blood work is still good.
Weeks later, the results we're devastating.  I had swollen lymph nodes (fairly large ones too) next to my abdomen and lungs.

Time for a biopsy to be sure.  Alas...