Five Years Ago I Got the Scariest News of My Life When I Was Diagnosed with Cancer

Thanks to Facebook's "On This Day' feature, I was shown a post I made five years ago announcing I had been diagnosed with cancer. That seems so long ago, but it's a day I'll never forget. 

I was diagnosed after I started getting lesions on my head that really hurt. After a biopsy and seeing doctors in both the CMMC and Mass General oncology departments, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called cutaneous b-cell lymphoma. I started a chemotherapy treatment a month or so later.

I've always said that I'm one of the lucky ones. My cancer is rare and chronic. I'll have it for the rest of my life, however it is very treatable and manageable. I don't have hair loss from my treatment, since it's just one drug that I'm given and it doesn't cause hair loss. It does however cost a ridiculous amount of money which makes me want to pull out my hair. My treatment is also free of many complications that others have to deal with. I feel like crap for a few days after a treatment, but bounce back quickly.

My last treatment was almost 3 years ago, but in that time, the lesions have slowly begun to come back. It's not at the point where it needs more treatment yet, but I see my oncologist every three months for tests and at some point we'll have to go after it again.

Like I said, I'm one of the lucky ones. As we head into Cans for a Cure to raise money for Breast Cancer through the Maine Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Community Center, I realize just how lucky I am when we meet and hear the stories from breast cancer patients.

Getting that cancer diagnosis still is the scariest thing that I've ever heard. After losing my uncle and mom just a year apart to cancer, I know all too well what it's like to deal with this awful disease from both sides. To those who endure so much more, I can't express how much I respect what you deal with and how well you do it. Cancer sucks, but we're all in this together and with the support of family and friends and tireless research, there will be a cure someday. I bet my life on it.