Serendipity — I always liked this word — the sound of it, its meaning. It is typically used for happy or beneficial occurrences but I feel that the detection of My Hodgkin Lymphoma was completely serendipitous. No symptoms, no signs, no red flags — completely random and a big surprise. Not necessarily a happy moment, but beneficial from an early detection standpoint.
There are so many different stories about how malignant diseases are being detected. For me it started with a visit to the ER due to severe abdominal pain that has been going on for a while. After 4 hours in the ER and all kinds of tests, they decided to keep me for the night. Prepping to get hospitalized involved a few routine procedures — one of them was a chest x-ray. To me it felt random and unnecessary but as hinted — in my case it allowed for the early detection of My Hodgkin Lymphoma.
When I was released home the next day, I received a long list of recommendations and to-dos. One of them indicated “suspicious findings” in the chest x-ray that required a follow-up in the form of a full chest CT scan — at my earliest convenience (a.k.a. no pressure!!). This was totally unrelated to the abdominal pain whatsoever — the reason I got to the ER in the first place, but I usually conform to medical advice so I went ahead to schedule the procedure. When talking to my Primary Care Physician (PCP) about it, I still remember myself trying to explain what they think they saw in the x-ray images — lymph nodes, lymphadenopathy — to his complete surprise: “What? Lymph nodes? It makes no sense, are you sure”?!?
I took the chest CT scan as early as appointments were available and was expecting to get the results after approximately seven business days. But three days later, at 7:40 in the morning, I got a phone call. The Caller ID showed it was my PCP. I immediately answered.
PCP: Good morning, do you have a few minutes to chat?
Me: Well not really, I’m currently primpin’ in front of the mirror, then heading to the office for a day full of back-to-back meetings. I can give you a call later this afternoon.
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Obviously, this response never really took place, if your PCP calls at that time of the day — it’s probably important.
—
Instead:
Me: Sure I have time to chat.
PCP: I’m calling because I just got your CT scan results. There is a problem. [At that point I only remember words, words, words — lymph nodes, lumps, lymphoma…]
Me: Lymphoma — does this mean I have cancer?
The unpredictable moments of life you can never be prepared for. Especially not when you’re asymptomatic and feel generally healthy and in shape.
Fast forward on what came after that:
- One quick consultation with a chest surgeon — his very first reaction when looking at the CT images — “Wow!” ;
- Two biopsies — somehow, the first one wasn’t definitive ;
- First visit to the hemato-oncologist who insisted that “Cancer is non-proper language. We should refer to it as a hemato-oncological illness” ;
- One PET scan — uneventful, except for the technician’s comment about getting Hodgkin “at my age”. sigh. ;
- Second visit to the hemato-oncologist who said, at least 3 times during the conversation — “you are young and healthy” (I can take young.. but healthy?!)
- And of course, long weeks of anxiety.
The diagnosis: Hodgkin Lymphoma, early stage. Now I’m officially labeled with “Health Condition Code #1400” on file with my healthcare provider.
At the age of 40+, I am beating the statistics.
