Diagnosed With Stage IV Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at 35
I’m way outside of my comfort zone posting this, but I’m in desperate need of help right now.
Last month I was diagnosed with Stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It’s an aggressive cancer that’s already spread through my body.
A few months ago I noticed a swollen lymph node on my elbow. Then more started appearing day after day in my groin, armpit, then chin. Then my ears had fluid and pressure and I couldn’t hear out of my right ear. I set up an appointment with my primary care provider to see what was wrong.
Four days before the appointment, I started having back and chest pain, making it impossible to sleep or even lie down flat. The pains were way worse at nighttime. It was really scary like I was being stabbed in my back and sharp intermittent heart pains. At the visit, she scheduled a CT scan and biopsy, but said to go to the ER if the symptoms returned at night.
That night, the pains returned, and I went to the ER. They did CT scans with dye. Having to lay flat even for 15 minutes during the scan was the most pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. I didn’t have any pain meds at that time. I was uncontrollably crying after I got out of the machine and had to assure the tech it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t claustrophobia, just torture level pain.
The scans showed cancer from my skull to my thighs, plus large masses in my lung, spleen, and abdomen. It was really hard processing that because I was really hoping for them to find something wrong due to the pain, and feared them being unsure what it was. But I didn’t expect multiple masses the size of pool balls to softballs in my organs and chest.
They did a biopsy on the lymph node in my chin to verify the diagnosis and installed the port in my chest. Then I started chemo on April 6th. It’s very exhausting and I haven’t been able to work due to the revolving door of side effects. At least the nausea medication is more effective these days they told me.
I’ve done over 8,000 DoorDash deliveries. I work very hard and take a ton of pride in it, mainly doing the shop and deliver orders at Safeway. I've built up a solid list of regulars who know I take it seriously. But being self-employed means no safety net right now.
I’m raising money for rent, uncovered medical costs, medications, and basic living expenses while I fight this. Any support, whether it’s a donation or sharing my GoFundMe, would help more than you know.
Thanks for reading. I’ll post updates as I go through treatment.
Target: $20,000