If she has learned anything, Christina Loch has learned the meaning of life. The thirty-five-year-old Vancouver native enjoys, kayaking and traveling whenever she has a chance. She goes to the gym regularly and always makes time for friends and family. But the passion Christina has for life comes from the lessons she has learned living with lymphoma.

At age 27, Christina was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For two months before her diagnosis she experienced night sweats, anemia, breathing problems, drastic weight loss and unexplained fevers. One morning Christina felt nauseous, vomited blood, collapsed onto the floor and was rushed to the hospital.

“When I first met my oncologist, he took my hand and asked me if I knew what oncology meant,” remembers Christina. “I told him I had heard of the word, but I didn’t know what it meant. He said he was a cancer specialist.”

She had a biopsy and underwent chemotherapy immediately. The doctors found three tumours, one in her chest, one in her right kidney and one in her right lung. After two months of chemotherapy, she was admitted to the BC Cancer Agency for high-dose chemotherapy. She fought her cancer for two solid years, during which, after achieving remission from the initial diagnosis, the cancer came back twice; once behind her left ear and later in her left kidney.

“The chemotherapy made me tired and I lost all of my hair in clumps, which really startled me,” said Christina. She started Rituxan treatments at the end of May, 2000. “The treatment saved my life.”

Research continues to uncover exciting advances in treating lymphoma. Recently, Health Canada approved Rituxan for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to be used following initial treatment as maintenance therapy when cancer is in remission, to keep the disease from progressing or recurring.

For the past five and a half years, Christina has been in remission. She’s learned the importance of drawing strength from wherever you can. She recognizes the importance of having hope and shares her experience with other cancer patients. She is active in the cancer community, and advocates for young adult cancer support. “Today I feel great and I take every opportunity to do as much as I can,” says Christina. “My fight with lymphoma has taught me that every day really counts and that you have to appreciate the little things in life.”

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects the lymphocytes, a specific type of white blood cell. For more information about its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment and what you can do to help people like Christina, you can contact Lymphoma Foundation Canada at 1-866-659-5556 or online at www.lymphoma.ca.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

Trackback URI | Comments RSS