RauviTravels Cancer Diary: My Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Diagnosis

RauviTravels Cancer Diary: My Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Diagnosis

Where would I begin? Ok, I guess I would tell you something about myself first. To begin with, I am Rauvi a.k.a. RauviTravels. I am 37 years young and a single mother of three beautiful children ages 15, 10 and 9. I am a Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner by profession based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I work both in partial hospitalization program as well as in inpatient and outpatient settings which I really love.

Rauvitravels is a healthy, outgoing and adventurous person. Moreover, I enjoy my life being a mother, a full-time nurse practitioner and a part-time traveler. I am blessed with the life that I’ve always wanted. Life’s great and awesome. And so I thought. I really assumed I was invincible until life played a big bad joke on me. Unfortunately, I only realized I wasn’t when life tricked me in the way worst possibly imagined. For one, I never thought I would ever write a blog about cancer one day. And never did I imagine that one day, I would write about my own cancer diary and journey.

Well, this is how it all began. On July 4th, I flew to Southeast Asia with my three children in tow for a promise of an epic summer adventure. Everyone was excited to spend three weeks exploring the Philippines and Japan. We climbed mountains, hiked trails, chased beautiful waterfalls, swam with whale sharks, hopped into different islands and enjoyed soaking into equally beautiful white sand beaches. We also enjoyed exploring the bustling and colorful city of Tokyo in our kimono attire. I will definitely write a blog about all the amazing adventures we did in Southeast Asia on my future posts.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

But, fast forward, that awesome adventure eventually ended on July 24th as we headed back home to the US. As expected and scheduled, I went back to work on July 26th very much well and energized. Everything went smoothly up until two weeks later when I started feeling ridiculously tired. So tired that I had to sit on the shower floor because I could not bear standing up while showering. I couldn’t even blow dry my hair due to extreme exhaustion. I thought it was weird but of course, I blamed it on jet lag and shrugged my shoulders off. One week later however, I found myself making multiple stops after taking few steps just to catch my breath. I also had fainting spells when I got up in the morning which I found concerning.

My unwanted visit to my Primary Care Physician

In as much as I wanted to continue shrugging my symptoms off, I knew deep in my heart that something is off. I made an appointment to see my PCP on August 26th. My PCP ordered routine blood tests including CBC, CMP, Lipid, TSH, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and added urinalysis as expected. Without hearing from my doctor for 3 days, I called his office on the morning of August 29th. The medical assistant told me over the phone that nothing significant turned up but scheduled me to see my PCP the next day anyway as a protocol. That Thursday night however, I had the most painful stabbing chest and back pain I never had in my life ever. I met my PCP the next day and was told my blood work looked insignificant with the exception of elevated platelet.

For some unknown reasons, my platelet has always been elevated since 2014. My PCP though nothing much of it because it would always go back close to normal ranger after a repeat platelet test. Concerned about my chest and back pain the previous night, I requested for EKG and chest x-ray. Result of the EKG showed tachycardia while chest x-ray showed and ‘enlarged spot’. Concerned with what he saw, my PCP told me to go to the closest hospital ASAP. He wanted for me to get a CT (computed tomography) scan of the chest with IV (intravenous) contrast to rule out his concern. I protested at first since it was a Friday with Monday being holiday (Labor Day).

Looking back, I knew something was wrong and I was just in denial. I tried to delay the inevitable apparently. Thankfully, he didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and even called the hospital in advance so off I went.

My unexpected trip to the Emergency Room

At the Emergency Room, a young good-looking doctor introduced himself and started asking questions.

ER Doctor : “What brought you to the ER tonight?”

RauviTravels: “I’m here because my PCP wanted me to get a CT of the chest with contrast.”

The ER doctor asked me why I went to my PCP in the first. I knew he was asking for my ‘signs and symptoms’. I really wanted to minimize my symptoms out of fear but as a medical professional myself, I know I shouldn’t. I looked back 1-2 months prior for any symptoms I for sure ignored. I work in a hospital and treat patients everyday but I absolutely hate going to a doctor or hospital for myself. I literally have to be in a ‘grave’ condition before anyone can make me go. As they say, medical professionals are the worst patients in the world and I’m one of them for sure. Although I wanted to lie about my symptoms, I also knew telling the truth was my only option. I’m glad I did; it sure saved my life.

• 

• 

• 

• 

My signs and symptoms (that I ignored) include:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Drenching night sweats
• Persistent dry cough
• Abdominal bloating and discomfort
• Generalized itching
• Flu-like symptoms without fever

After listening to my barrage of symptoms, the ER ord doctor ordered for IV access/infusion, vials of blood to be drawn and a CT scan of the chest with IV contrast. While waiting for the CT result, I dictated on all the patients I’ve rounded on that day and finished some charting to pass time. I also purposely worked even with IV and pulse oximeter to distract myself from my raging nerves. By the way, I was all alone during this time.

The scary and inevitable result

After what seemed to be like forever, the ER doctor came back in my room with a dull face and his hands clasped. The first thing he said was ‘I’m sorry’. He did say these words so many times that I felt like they deafened me. I felt my heart racing and felt hot and cold at the same time. It took me a while to answer and ask questions. And my first words were ‘am I dying? What is it?’ He said ‘no’ but told me the result of the CT scan showed a very, very concerning lymphoma which he consulted an oncologist for.

To say that I felt the world came crushing down on me that very moment is an understatement. I felt heartbroken and confused and told him, ‘Dr., do you know that my youngest child is only 9 years old?’ I didn’t even realize I was already crying inconsolably at this point to which he kept saying ‘I’m sorry’. At this time, I told him I work in the medical field myself and requested to read the CT report myself. He nodded and printed it out for me. See below for the result.

• 

• 

What is lymphoma?

• According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2019), “Lymphoma is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. The two main types are Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).”

After being told that my extensive mediastinal lymphadenopathy could be lymphoma, the ER doctor pretty much told me I need to be admitted for an in-depth work-up. He told me the oncologist will come by to talk to me in the morning. I didn’t expect this to happen at all. I was looking forward for a Mediterranean dinner that night. I didn’t want to stay but I know I have to.

This is just one of the many chapters of my cancer diary thus far. I will post blog more posts soon. Thank you for reading. Stay healthy y’all!