World Cancer Day 2021

*“I’m just here for the food” – Hospital of U Penn – 4/11/19*

Today is World Cancer Day!

This is a day that I had no idea about 3 years ago. Oh how much has changed since November 14th, 2018!

Let’s just start off with some stats from The American Cancer Society Journal about cancer in 2020:

There were roughly 1.8 million new cases of cancer
There were roughly 600,00 deaths from cancer
There were roughly 86,000 new lymphoma cases, 32,000 new myeloma cases, and 60,000 new leukemia cases

According to www.cancer.gov, there is a new cancer case for every 442.4 out of 100,000 men & women per year. Additionally, the cancer death rate is every 158.3 out of 100,000 men & women per year. Both are based on stats from 2013-2017.

You never know who cancer will affect.

It doesn’t just affect the “unhealthy people”. Cancer can affect even the healthiest people.

It can be genetic!

If someone in your family has had cancer, I would highly recommend getting a genetic test done to see if anything has been passed onto you.

Within my first few days of being diagnosed and in the hospital, a dermatologist took a cylinder of my skin on my left bicep for a genetic test. No genetic mutation was detected, who knows if that’s better or not!

From my standpoint, it may have not been genetic, but there are still some factors that I found to be interesting.

I have 16 first cousins on my dad’s side. 3 out of 17 of us have autoimmune diseases.

One of my female cousins was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in her early childhood, and another female cousin was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in her mid 20s. (For context, there are 10 males and 7 females.) I have seen a few times that autoimmune diseases are common in Irish heritage.

When I look at all of my cancer friends that I have “met”(through social media- thanks COVID!), there isn’t anything that stands out to me as why we all have cancer in common.

But one thing that most of us do have in common, is the want to help others.

Whether they have been very open and public about what they are going through, or if they are in a few of the cancer groups that I’m in, we all want to help when we can.

Even if it’s not our own diagnosis or cancer, we try to connect the newly diagnosed with someone that we know who has a similar cancer to them.

Networking within the cancer community is one of the best things you can do when you are diagnosed.

I announced to social media on my 28th birthday, December 15th 2018, about a month after I was diagnosed and home from the hospital.

I did “update posts” every month or so after being diagnosed on Instagram and Facebook. I didn’t want to do Caringbridge because that seemed like too much work for people to view – creating a login/account etc.

It wasn’t until almost a year post being diagnosed, that I connected with my first cancer friend.

She is a local Philly girl about my age, who was diagnosed with APmL 2 weeks before I was, at the same hospital. She was discharged 2 days before I was admitted. CRAZY!

Julia saw that I had visited our local LLS office to meet everyone a week after the Light The Night Walk(2019). She messaged me on Instagram after they posted about my visit.

*When I visited the LLS Philadelphia office – 11/6/19*

*No one wanted to hug me or be too close to me as I was going back into the hospital in 2 weeks to

She mentioned being in a cancer group on Instagram called “The Chemo Queens” (@chemoqueens), and asked if I wanted to be in the group message. I said sure! (A usual response to something cancer related)

I have become very good friends with her! She visited me in the hospital the day before I had my transplant!

*Julia and I in the family room on my floor, as my room was getting sanitized right before my transplant – 11/26/19*

Cancer may have put my life on pause for the majority of the past 26 months, but at the same time, I have gained SO MUCH.

I have had many growing pains that most people never have or have a few years later down the road.

I have met some of the most amazing people: my nurses, cancer patients and survivors, people at LLS, and the list can go on.

It might seem odd to cancer muggles(a term I will frequently use for non-cancer patients) to celebrate World Cancer Day, but in many ways, it is a celebration of life!

How are you going to celebrate World Cancer day?

If you know someone who is a cancer warrior, call them or send them a text! Share the love! <3