TYLER’S STORY
Tyler was on the couch watching football with his wife when he suddenly felt a small lump in his neck. He pulled up Google and searched his symptoms, and result after result pointed to cancer. He tried to not to assume the worst, and he went to a local urgent care clinic the next morning. The clinic doctor performed an exam, ordered blood work and an x-ray. Once she reviewed the x-ray results, she cancelled the rest of the tests and told Tyler and his wife to go to the hospital immediately. The x-ray showed a mass in Tyler’s chest. The doctor hoped she was wrong, but she had seen something similar before and it was lymphoma.
As they got in the car to go to the hospital, Tyler looked at his wife: “We just stared at each other for a while, I can’t quite tell you how long. I can’t tell you who said what, but one of us said, ‘is this really happening?’ and the other said, ‘yes’ and we cried.”
At the hospital, Tyler underwent a series of tests and scans, and then spoke to the oncologist on call. The oncologist told Tyler he was worried that the lump was a growth in one of his lymph nodes. To learn more, he needed to perform a biopsy and remove a piece of the lymph node. Once removed, the surgeon sent the tissue to the lab for diagnosis. There, a pathologist reviewed the tissue under a microscope, and diagnosed Tyler with Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Hodgkin Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects part of the immune system called the lymphoid system. The lymphoid system fights against infection by using white blood cells to destroy foreign substances like bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Lymphoma develops when these white blood cells, called lymphocytes, start to change, and grow out of control.
Tyler was young and otherwise healthy and responded well to his treatment. However, three months into remission, tests showed that his cancer had come back. He completed another round of treatment, but this time remission was even shorter. When the cancer came back a third time, Tyler qualified for a different type of treatment – high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant.
Bone marrow transplants help patients replace the stem cells that are destroyed by cancer or high doses of chemotherapy and are essential to helping a patient’s body rebuild their blood supply. Tyler is quick to share that the transplant was a painful and grueling experience. “I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy,” he said, “but I’m lucky.” In most cases, it takes months for patients to rebuild their blood supply after a stem cell transplant. Within a week of his transplant, Tyler’s lab results showed that his blood counts were close to normal.
Throughout his diagnoses and treatments, Tyler and his doctors relied on lab tests to monitor how his body responded to treatment and to catch his cancer recurrence quickly. Closely monitoring his test results allowed Tyler to understand what was happening inside of his body and make the best decisions for his health.
Almost five years into remission, Tyler has dedicated his life to giving back by supporting and educating others navigating cancer, and he looks forward to spending the rest of his life advocating for and educating cancer patients.