28 year old mother relaped and facing stem cell transplant..scared!

natalie14

I am a 28-year old mother of three small children and was just told I have a recurrence of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I am devastated. I was also just told that an autologous stem cell transplant is my option..with a 50% cure rate. I am so very scared! Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thankyou, Natalie

Chemo_Princess

Never lose hope
Hi, my name is also Natalie :-)
I am 31 and was diagnosed with stage 3c ovarian cancer in April 2009. It's been almost one year and I still have not beat this demon!! I understand your fear, but I know my doctors are doing everything they can. I do not have children, but I have young nieces and a young nephew that I am very close to so I'm concerned with what the future holds. My oncologist said my cancer is very agressive and I may never be cancer free.
My family and friends have been very supportive. Also my faith has kept me going. I understand religion isn't for everybody--but I find that if I hand everything over to God I am able to think about happy things and not worry about my cancer. Also the women on the ovarian cancer board are wonderful and encouraging.
I went on an antidepressant after I was diagnosed and that has helped. I hope you are able to find comfort in this trying time. I hope you don't mind if I pray for you.
Have a great day!
Natalie

natalie14

Chemo_Princess said:

Never lose hope
Hi, my name is also Natalie :-)
I am 31 and was diagnosed with stage 3c ovarian cancer in April 2009. It's been almost one year and I still have not beat this demon!! I understand your fear, but I know my doctors are doing everything they can. I do not have children, but I have young nieces and a young nephew that I am very close to so I'm concerned with what the future holds. My oncologist said my cancer is very agressive and I may never be cancer free.
My family and friends have been very supportive. Also my faith has kept me going. I understand religion isn't for everybody--but I find that if I hand everything over to God I am able to think about happy things and not worry about my cancer. Also the women on the ovarian cancer board are wonderful and encouraging.
I went on an antidepressant after I was diagnosed and that has helped. I hope you are able to find comfort in this trying time. I hope you don't mind if I pray for you.
Have a great day!
Natalie

Hi Natalie! Beautiful name!
Hi Natalie! Beautiful name! I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. You know, I will never forget about a month ago hearing my specialist say transplant. I literally felt the life taken from me and my poor babies. I asked what are the chances of this curing me and he said 50/50. I couldn't take it. I was so depressed, couldn't eat, sleep, or look at my children the same way, afterall they had already gone through this over a year ago with my first diagnosis. I found complete comfort in my family nad most importantly my faith. My four-year-old sons teacher (God brings certain people/angels into your life for reasons) hugged me and said, "Natalie, instead of asking yourself why you...tell yourelf WHY NOT ME. God has chosen me because he knows I am strong enough to endure this battle, and most importantly to love and honor Him throughout this journey. I will pray for you Natalie, that God will give you strength and bless you with many more beautiful days with your neices and nephew. Remember Natalie, when it feels like the weight is too much...let God carry it for you. Please keep in touch and thankyou for sharing your story with me. Many blessings, Natalie

cgarr71

Hi my name is Chris I had a
Hi my name is Chris I had a bone marrow transplant from my brother and am doing great so far 6 months post. It was hard but I wouldn't be here right now without it. I don't know if you have read any literature about stem cell and bone marrow transplants but they are quickly and quietly becoming the first choice for many cancers because the results are that much better than just traditional chemo and radiation alone. Also it is important to try to be at the best hospital available for this. The more experience a hospital has the better the results because it is a very tedious process where observation is very crucial. The way it was explained to me was that a hospital can have great doctor who knows what they are doing but the concern is they have to go home or they could have an emergency and then it is a question of who is observing you. Because it is a 24 hour observation. So it is important to research that too. I recommend MD Anderson I houston texas they are the number one cancer hospital in America. And are also the most experienced with stem cell transplants. They take cases from all over the world. Another point of concern is becareful what the hospital tells you. I go to school here in east texas and was, miraculously, sent there first because i have never heard of the place. But even still i wanted to be near family in AZ and called the UofA cancer center and told them everything and they told me they can perform my treatment. Well there are two kinds of stem cell transplants from another person. One is harvesting stem cells from another persons blood which is easier and the most convenient the second is an actual bone marrow harvesting. I needed the second but both are categorized as stem cell transplants. So when I learned this I was the one who had to clarify to the UofA of what I needed even after they had my records and then told me they don't have what I need. Thank god i did this because i was a few days away from moving back to AZ.

I don't know if this helps in anyway but I hope it does and I will say a prayer for you. Good luck and stay as positive as you can in these dark times.