This is my first time using a blog. After six weeks of being poked and prodded I was finally diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma on 19 December 2013. What a relief it was to finally receive a diagnosis, one which came totally out of the blue mind you and threw me and my family for six. They discovered an enlarged 3.5cm supraclavicular lymph node on the left side of my neck during a routine thyroid ultrasound. Further tests revealed an 'abundance' of mesenteric lymph nodes, para - aortic and on my bowel.
Because the nodes in my abdomen are no larger than 10mm they are taking the 'watch and wait' approach with me for now. I thought I was ok with this but over the past few days have been feeling a little low. I feel that everything has to be normal but it's the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first think of think of when I wake in the morning. I have a very supportive husband and family but don't feel that I should be talking about it all the time. Hence my decision to write a blog and connect with others.
My mother was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma in December 2010 and went into remission six months later. I know all about this type of cancer from her experience so up until now have been feeling very positive about the road ahead.
To our shock my mother has relapsed and was told three days prior to my diagnosis that her lymphoma had returned. We are still waiting for the final result to tell us what type it is. Who would have guessed that both of us would be going through it together, especially since it's not hereditary.
We share the same Oncologist (who treated mum for her first diagnosis) and who we have total faith in.
Even after typing a few lines I feel like writing this blog is just what I needed to get things off my chest. No doubt with the 'watch and wait' approach i won't be making too many entries until the time comes that I need to start treatment, which I hope is a long way away.
I have read a few entries from others and already feel positive that this site will give me encouragement and look forward to connecting with people.
Thank you for sharing your stories
xx
