Here we go...First Post

I've never done a blog before, but I thought it might be nice to write down some of the things I have been dealing with over the past few days, and some of the challenges that still lie ahead of me. So here we go...

On August 6, I had my tonsils removed because I noticed my right tonsil was enlarged. I can remember when I first saw it, I thought it was strange, but I didn't really think anything of it. I was so nonchalant about the situation that I can remember my friends, family and I joking about the "Huge Tonsil." It was so big in fact, that it covered half of my throat, and food would get stuck in it, so yeah it was big.

Then after the operation my doctor told me they had found some sort of infection within the tonsil. I thought it was just a little infection and nothing too serious. It wasn't until after the weekend did I find out it was Lymphoma. I can remember being on the phone, hearing the nurse tell me it was Lymphoma, but not really registering it. Almost like words were coming into my head, but nothing was sticking. So that very day we met with one of the doctors, and he confirmed it was indeed Lymphoma.

Now of course there are many different forms of Lymphoma, and each of the different types can be very different, so I didn't really understand what I was in for. It wasn't until August 14th did I find out which type of Lymphoma I had. The doctor told me I had Non-Hodgkin's Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. This is a fast and aggressive Lymphoma, but it is curable- so that was good news. At that point I decided to fight the Lymphoma head on, with full force. I knew it would be an uphill battle, but one I could and would win. I thought it was interesting how my brain went into this fighting mode, almost as if I gained a new level of determination.

Following my diagnosis, I went through many different tests and scans to see if the Lymphoma had spread to any different parts of my body. I was very lucky to find that the Lymphoma had not spread to my brain or bone marrow.

So as I write my story down over the next few days, weeks, and months, I hope others can learn from my exerpience, so no one else will be caught off guard.

Danielle Dupuy