Wendy // Lymphoma Cancer Survivor

Age: 69 years old

From: Dallas, TX

What treatments did you undergo during your journey? Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, integrative, and other treatments.

What were your signs/symptoms leading up to your diagnosis? Pain and enlarged lymph nodes.

How did cancer alter your lifestyle? Forced to retire young from clinical medicine, I became a writer. Dealing with post-treatment fatigue, I abandoned my go-go-go lifestyle to pace myself and get enough rest. Intimate experiences with the fragility and hopes of life led me to live most fully.

What makes your story unique or helpful to others? I have far outlived my prognosis thanks to treatments developed after my original diagnosis. My story is a testament to the idea that as long as disease is treatable, patients have reason for hope for continued survival.

Any advice for those coming behind you? Find the best hopes for you for today–namely hopes that motivate you to helpful actions, and hopes that bring peace about things beyond your control.

Do you have a funny cancer story? Throughout the first weeks after my cancer diagnosis, I felt increasingly “broken” because of the cancer in my body and the incisions and needlesticks on my body. One afternoon, after taking a misstep and gently bumping into the corner of a piece of furniture, I cried out to my husband, “Oh, no!  I’ll bruise, and I won’t be perfect anymore!” We burst out laughing so hard I slumped to the ground, barely able to catch my breath. My ridiculous comment broke the tension about all the recent losses. Our laughing about something painful helped us find acceptance and move on. Today, 34 years later, I still remember the relief and healing of that outburst.

Favorite quote, scripture or song? “This is the Day…we shall rejoice.” (Psalm 118 v 24).

How did you hear about Brighter? How has it made a difference? Saw it on social media. Uplifting articles add light.