Learning I had cancer | The Gathering Place

In January 2005, I just started my second semester of college at Kent State University.? At the time, I was studying interior design and had myself convinced that I would be the next great designer on HGTV.? I was in the place where I was getting my bearings on living life as a college student, but overall, things were great ? I had a renewed sense of independence, was making new friends, taking classes that were interesting and working a job that was fun!

Then, in what seemed like an instant, I ended up in the ER because I was having trouble swallowing.? I found an egg-sized lump on the left side of my neck, which?.after much convincing?.brought me to the ER to be checked out.? During my visit, I had two CT scans that showed a tumor in my chest in addition to the lump on my neck.

Within a few days, I saw my primary care physician who thought I was having ?thyroid issues.?? He referred me to a specialist to get another opinion.? A few days thereafter, I met a doctor who reviewed my ER scans and immediately started throwing around the word lymphoma.? I thought to myself, ?um, what is lymphoma?? He eventually answered my question by saying ?it?s cancer, some people die and some people live a long life it.? I will NEVER forget those words as they completely terrified me for a long time.? That doctor then scheduled me for a biopsy within a few days, which you can imagine I was not very excited about?

On February 1, 2005, I received the official diagnosis of cancer, Hodgkin?s Lymphoma, which I later learned was in Stage 2B (basically, an earlier stage with symptoms).? My life changed incredibly quickly ? everything that I was learning to be ?normal? in the life of a young adult became something that I no longer knew.

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What was your experience like when you learned that you had cancer? Were you alone when you heard the news? Were you told face to face or over the phone? Share your experience?

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Amy Chmielewski, LSW, MSSA, MA, is a seven-year Hodgkin?s Lymphoma survivor. She recently graduated from Case Western Reserve University, where she earned two master?s degrees in social work and bioethics. Amy was honored with the Dean?s Award for Outstanding Student Achievement from The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

Amy is a social worker at The Cleveland Clinic as her cancer journey has inspired her to work with individuals and families facing cancer. She also volunteers in the children?s program at The Gathering Place and serves on the Patient Services Committee for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Northern Ohio Chapter. She was awarded the LLS Patient Services Hope Award in 2011. Amy is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book. She enjoys writing and speaking in the cancer community to raise awareness about young adults with cancer.

Amy?s recent interview on The Stupid Cancer Show on Blog Talk Radio

Source: http://www.touchedbycancer.org/2012/07/cancer-survivor-to-sole-thriver-learning-i-had-cancer/

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