Yes, I Cancer

By Lauren Cella

This book is about my personal journey of my battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. This book is for the cancer fighters, survivors, family and friends of those, and anyone that needs a bit of inspiration in their daily life. I share the intimate details of my journey with the hopes to make someone else's journey easier. I provide you with all of the knowledge I acquired throughout my experience, as well as some tips to live a healthier lifestyle. I have also included some amazing, nutritional recipes to help keep your mind and body happy and healthy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449068349

Lauren Cella

I am a female who experienced a life-changing experience at the young age of 24...cancer. I cannot think of any 24 year old or anyone for that matter, that wants to hear the words, "You have cancer." As much as I wish that I never heard those words, to be honest, I am somewhat thankful I did. The experience allowed me to learn so much, not only about the disease itself, but about life and the life I wanted to start living. After my diagnosis, I was quick to learn that life really is short and never should be taken for granted. I share this journey with you to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of my experience. I hope to inspire you whether you're experiencing cancer or you know someone that is. After truly realizing how short life can be, I knew that it was time to do things that I always dreamed of doing, but never followed through with before. One of my biggest dreams was to move to a new city for new experiences. And in early 2012, I did just that. I currently reside in beautiful Southern California. Not only did I get to move to a place I love, I am so blessed to say that I have found love. My fiancé is loving, caring, and beyond patient. We enjoy living each day to the fullest and doing our best to not take one day for granted.

Book preview

yes, i

CANcer

A young woman’s journey of overcoming

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Lauren Cella

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 by Lauren Cella. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/06/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4490-6832-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-6833-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-6834-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915326

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1       Excuse Me, I Have What?

Chapter 2       Got Eggs?

Chapter 3       It’s Not You—It’s Me

Chapter 4       Chemotherapy Survival Kit

Chapter 5       Eat This… Stupid Cancer

Chapter 6       Socializing 101

Chapter 7       Life Goes On After Treatment

Chapter 8       RECIPES

Acknowledgements

About the Author

To all current and future cancer survivors

Preface

This book is based upon my personal experience with Hodgkin’s disease, which is a type of lymphoma. It is a detailed journey of my battle, which involved much laughter and tears along the way. Whether you are the person fighting or the person watching the one you love fight for his or her life, my intention is to make your battle easier. My name is Lauren Cella and I was twenty-four years old when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease.

The knowledge that I have acquired since my diagnosis is not only about the type of cancer I have, but other types as well. Although books have been a vital source in helping me become more knowledgeable about cancer, it did not serve as my only source. I have learned more about cancer by taking advantage of reading cancer survivors’ stories, as well as speaking firsthand with these heroes of their own lives.

I was born and raised in Henderson, Nevada, a city located just minutes away from the famous Las Vegas strip. My family consists of two loving parents, Aimee and Stephen, an older sister Caroline, who lives in California with her husband, my brother-in-law, Daniel and my aunt and uncle, Barbara and Larry. I am extremely close to all of them. Unfortunately, my grandmother, also named Caroline, passed away when I was ten years old. Prior to her passing, she always ensured that my sister and I were taken care of well beyond the expected. She had and still has the sweetest soul of anyone I’ve ever encountered, and there’s not a day that passes when I don’t think about her. I have a small family, but feel blessed for the closeness, support, and overwhelming love they provide.

I was always raised to have God in my life and follow the tenants of the Catholic Church, but it was not until my grandmother passed away that I remember my family becoming more involved in the church and after her passing that we went to mass every single Sunday. Once our family got back into the church, I received my Holy Communion and Confirmation, and ever since, my faith remained strong in God and in my religion. There was never a day in my life that I doubted my beliefs.

I have only good memories from my childhood, with the exception of the ubiquitously diagnosed tonsillitis, requiring the only surgical procedure I ever had. Being an average teenage girl who was extremely ambitious, I was on occasion a bit rebellious, enjoying the ride of being a teenage girl and the experiences that came along with it. I was involved in cheerleading and student council throughout my high school years.

I also began working at the young age of sixteen, not because my parents forced me, but because I wanted to work. The parks and recreation department was the perfect job and I absolutely loved it—so much that it was a job I held for approximately five years. My social life was also a part-time job for me too, spending a lot of time with my friends and attending what I like to remember as cool parties. For the most part, I was healthy in high school, and it was not until my senior year in 2003 that I was diagnosed with shingles. They were so painful and my parents used to tease me since typically elderly people get this viral inflammation and here I am, at the young age of eighteen, with it.

After graduating high school in 2003, I decided to stay in Las Vegas and attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue my Bachelor of Arts degree in business management, which I obtained in 2008. While attending college, I also worked full time at an architecture and interior design firm as a financial administrative assistant. I was always busy with the responsibilities of work and school, but always did my best to have a good social life. I have been fortunate to have a majority of the same friends since high school, some even earlier. This includes a tight knit circle of girlfriends, with whom it has been fun to get older and wiser. I have never been known as the big party girl, but I definitely like going out and having a good time and can usually be spotted at the bar with a vodka tonic.

After just six months of receiving my Bachelor’s degree, I was feeling the need for change, just as any twenty-something year old would desire. It was then that I decided to apply for a new job and pursue a graduate degree. I began working for a government agency in October 2008 as a financial office specialist. In January 2009, I was accepted into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas public administration graduate school program and am working on fulfilling the requirements of that degree.

After I made all of these exciting changes, I felt that my life was on the right track and I was happy. It was not until August 2009 that I would take twenty steps back. Cancer? Wait, I thought, I do not have time for cancer. Yet shortly after my diagnosis, I realized it was time to embark on a completely new journey—one that I never anticipated.

Chapter 1

EXCUSE ME, I HAVE WHAT?

August 2009

Dear C,

Your name came up in conversation numerous times during the month. The mentioning of your name alone caused not only me to cry and feel scared, but also those that love and care about me. It turns out that not many of my family and friends are very fond of you. Also, the healthy cells in my body have told you repeatedly that they don’t want to be friends with you nor do they want to multiply with you. I have to believe that it is your own fault that there are not many people or cells that like you. Let’s take a look back on the reputation you have gained for yourself. First, you have taken the lives of other people’s loved ones. Second, you inconvenience people’s lives by imposing your negative cells on them. Third, you cause unnecessary fear and panic amongst many people. I can only have faith that you are not going to attempt to inconvenience my life too badly. See, what you do not know is that I have a plan to live a healthy life until at least ninety years old. I have a lot of goals to achieve and think it is only fair to ask for at least 65 more years to accomplish all of them. With all of this said, there is clearly not much room in my life for you to come in and put your best effort forward to corrupt my healthy cells. I find it necessary to apologize in advance that our relationship will not last very long. And besides, I do not like to be involved with people that my friends, family, and healthy cells are not fond of.

Sincerely,

Lauren

How Did I Find Out I Had Cancer?

The number one question after being diagnosed with an illness is usually, How did you find out something was wrong with you, and what symptoms did you have? Well, here’s how I found out: If I had to explain to someone in one sentence, it would be that I found a lump above my collarbone, and, no, I had no other symptoms beyond this. But that is not a fun story, so I think it is important to share all the details.

Saturday, August 1, 2009: It was an average Saturday night and I was eating at a sushi restaurant with my girlfriends. I was wearing a green, plaid tube top. It might be a bit irrelevant to tell you what I was wearing, but it was because of this tube top I found the enlarged lymph node. Since my upper chest was bare, I just so happened to feel across my collarbone. I am not really certain as to why I was doing this, but oddly enough and unexpectedly, I felt something strange. There was a raised, hard lump above my collarbone on the right hand side. I expressed to my friends that I was worried about my new finding and asked them to touch it. They did admit it felt a bit weird, but they just brushed it off and said it was probably nothing and not to worry. Well, not worrying about something foreign in my body is not easy for me. I am the type of person that goes to urgent care for something as simplistic as an ingrown hair, and there was no way that I would be able to not be concerned. The rest of the evening with my friends was not enjoyable, as I could just not take my mind off this lump. I tried to enjoy myself and drink a beer, but found that the bottle was just warming up my grip. It was not that I had immediately jumped to the conclusion it was cancerous; yet I knew in my heart that something was wrong.

Sunday, August 2, 2009: I decided to call my parents and tell them about Mr. Lump in my body. I had absolutely no idea at this point it was a lymph node that was enlarged or swollen, so that is why I keep referring to it as a lump. While speaking to my parents, my mother assured me that she would call to make me an appointment to see a general practitioner as soon as possible.

Monday, August 3, 2009: I was sitting at the general practitioner’s office with my mother. He did the routine check-up on me and asked me questions pertaining to smoking, frequent drinking, and exercising. Let me answer those for you, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink frequently, and I exercise four to five times per week. He assured me that I was a healthy young woman and it was probably just an infection. My mom insisted he order an x-ray just to be safe, so the doctor agreed and an x-ray was completed the same day. The doctor told me he would be in touch with me over the next few days with the results. Meanwhile, I called my dad to tell him the news. My dad has been a clinical laboratory scientist for a local cancer center for over sixteen years. He told me that if I could come by his office, he would ask one of the oncologists to look at the lump and give me a second opinion. I agreed to drive over