Introduction

Hi, I'm Amanda — I've recently been diagnosed with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma, stage 1X. A special 'X' because the mass in my chest is huge. Started this blog to pen down my thoughts, and my experiences during this journey to recovery. With big changes to my body, it will definitely be tough physically, emotionally, mentally... but I will be even tougher!

I'm back from the hospital and resting at home now, and will be doing so for the next 6 months.

I've started on chemotherapy, R-EPOCH to be specific. I've chosen this treatment over R-CHOP because it is newer (so i assume it to be more advanced), and at the end of it, the cancer cells should be gone (they better be) so there's no need for radiotherapy. For R-CHOP, there is a higher chance for radiotherapy, which is horrible because this would not only kill more good cells, it might also cause another cancer to develop?! Can't let that happen!

This makes R-EPOCH sound like an angel but no... no chemotherapy treatment is. R-EPOCH is definitely more intense, with an extra drug included compared to R-CHOP. Instead of running for 2 hours, this treatment will be over 5 consecutive days, and there is a need for a booster jab for the next 7 days after treatment.

So far, I've had to inject myself 3 times a day. On top of the booster jab, they found a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis) around my chest area, so I'm on Clexane (a blood thinner) twice a day to get rid of the clot. At first it was pretty daunting... I don't have a fear of needles but just being told that I needed to inject myself — not once, but three times a day???! But I'm glad I've overcome this psychological barrier, I can even say I'm a pro now haha.

Cheers to this recovery journey, because it will make me even stronger and braver than I'll ever be.