Hi all!
I am new to blogging, but I feel like this is my best outlet to try to find a community that knows how I feel.
In March of 2015, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I had my suspicions about the diagnosis because the lymph nodes in my neck were so large you could see them bumping out from my neck just by looking at me.
From March until July my life was turned upside-down with scans, surgery, and ABVD chemo every two weeks. I stayed in cosmetology school throughout the entire process to try to hang onto a shred of normalcy. In August, I got the all clear from my doctor that my cancer was in remission and I couldn't be happier. I did unfortunately have a second half to my journey when I started a clinical trial for the drug, brentuximab. My doctors assured me that this drug is already in use for relapse patients and they are trying to get it certified for use earlier in treatment due to the lessened long term side effects.
This drug caused me to have all over joint pain, a rash that covered my body, arms, and hands with blisters that itched and were so painful that I couldn't even function during a normal day. I quit the clinical trial after two doses. I feel like now I am set back from the lingering symptoms of chemo and the brentuximab. I still have joint and leg pain everyday and sometimes I can't even walk in the morning or when I get home from school. This is alarming considering I am only 24 years old.
Every time I look at the scale, it looks like a mountain I can't climb on my own. From the steroids all year, to pain, to the inability to get out of bed, I don't know how I am going to lose the 40 pounds I have gained since March last year.
Any support or tips would be greatly appreciated. I am going to get serious about losing the weight and try to make as many changes as needed to do so. I want my life back.
