Just thinking...

Having cancer is something I never thought I would have to deal with so young. For so long I have felt ashamed with what I have, i told very few people and hid away at home. I've come to realise that I have nothing to be ashamed of. I don't have a cancer that I caused myself so why be ashamed? I do however hate the looks I now get when I'm out and about, I'm not sure if they are looks of pity or what they are. I know a lot of people don't know what to say to me and that's okay, I don't know if I would know what to stay to me either. I'm not afraid to answer any questions people may have, I like to talk about my journey and through this I hope I can help people understand what it's like to have cancer. I'll admit, I was so naive before I was diagnosed. I thought people with cancer just had chemotherapy and that was it, I never knew about all these other things that went along with it. It has been incredibly hard, harder then I ever thought it would be.

Here are some facts about Hodgkins Lymphoma:
It is highly treatable
It will affect 1 in 25,000 people every year
It makes up for less then 1% off all cancers worldwide.
It usually occurs in young adulthood (age 15–35)
It is more common in males
There are no known causes
There is a 25% chance of relapse after remission
There are also about 40 different types of Lymphoma

I know people always say that having cancer changes your outlook on life, and believe me it does. I don't know how much time I have left even after I get to the remission stage. My doctor said that I have 90% chance of living 4 years and a 75% chance of living 7 years after treatment stops. It's scary to think that even once you have gone into remission it could still shorten your life. So yes it does change your outlook on life, it makes you appreciate what you have and cherish the ones that are there for you, and let go of the ones that aren't.