Last July, just before I turned 19, I was experiencing severe difficulty breathing and lethargy for just over a week and could no longer do physical activities to my normal degree. I went into urgent care to have it checked out and, after meeting with multiple doctors, they informed me they saw a large mass in my chest x-ray and told me to go to the emergency room immediately. There I received a CT scan to get a better answer and the doctors told me it was very likely Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The next morning they did a biopsy on the mass in my lymph nodes. A week later after much debate from the doctors, they changed their diagnosis from Hodgkins to Epstein-Barr virus and I was allowed to begin college like normal. Halfway through my first semester, my previous symptoms had come back and were making my day to day life very difficult so I scheduled another doctor’s visit for when I came home during Thanksgiving break. During my visit another CT scan was performed and the mass in my lymph nodes had drastically grown and spread to multiple spots. The doctors then scheduled my second biopsy for December 6th which meant that I, unfortunately, had to leave college early and not finish my first semester. After the second biopsy, the doctors officially diagnosed me with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and I began my chemo treatments on December 20th.
Casey’s LifeList:
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Meet Bill Self
- Attend a KU men’s basketball game