Elephants and Tea: Hodgkin Lymphoma Issue 2021 - 10

Self-Advocate
ASK FOR HELP
Asking for Help
Can Be Hard
BY RACHEL MIHALKO
A
sking for help has never been my forte. I thrive on living independently, and it's
taken a while for me to become OK with asking for help when I need it. It's still a
struggle today, but it was especially difficult when I was going through treatment.
Flash back to about three years ago, when
I was going through treatment for Hodgkin's
lymphoma. I was diagnosed at 19 years
old, and I had just finished my freshman
year of college. It was the beginning of the
summer, and I was hopeful that I could finish
treatment before fall semester began. I
wanted things to go back to normal as soon
as possible.
I sat with my parents in an exam room
while my oncologist, Dr. Pallera, explained
my recommended treatment plan. He's a
short man with a gentle demeanor, and
his voice was soft and kind as he spoke.
He explained the chemo I would get, and
how I would receive the treatment every
other week.
" We like to treat this cancer very aggressively, "
Dr. Pallera said. " I recommend that you
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HODGKIN LYMPHOMA ISSUE 2021
do four rounds of chemotherapy to treat this
stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma. After that, we
will do another PET scan to assess whether
more chemotherapy is necessary. "
Walking out of that conversation, I held
onto any hope that I could. The largest of
hopes being that I could go right back to
school after finishing treatment and move
on with my life as soon as possible. At the
time, I think that's the kind of thing I needed
to cling to-finding a sense of normalcy at
the end of this.
It was comforting to have that to look
forward to for a while. Until it all came
crumbling down.
After eight weeks of treatment, I went in
for my PET scan as scheduled. When I saw
the doctor, the news I got was good, yet it
did not line up with my plan.
" Ninety percent of your tumors are gone, "
Dr. Pallera said. " This means that you are in
remission. "
My parents and I breathed a sigh of relief.
This was great news. But my doctor continued,
and what he said was not what I had
hoped for.
" When you began treatment for stage two
Hodgkin's lymphoma, we had discussed
how you may only need four rounds of
chemotherapy to treat it, " he reminded us.
" However, although you are in remission,
you will need to do another four rounds of
chemotherapy. "
This was not the good news that I had
wanted to hear. This was not how this was
supposed to go. Four more infusions meant
eight more weeks of treatment, which would
run into the fall semester. I was supposed to
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Elephants and Tea: Hodgkin Lymphoma Issue 2021

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