Hi! My name is Asha. I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma when I was 18 years old in December 2018 during my freshman year of college. I noticed a bump on my neck that I thought may have been an insect bite until another one appeared next to the first one. When I saw that the bumps were connecting to each other that is when I told my parents.
After a battery of test, scans, labs the doctor in the Urgent Care sent me immediately over to the ENT that same day. He ordered a biopsy. I had 3 surgeries which included my port placement, biopsy of my lymph node and a bone marrow biopsy. I completed 6 months of ABVD chemotherapy.
I had to take the Spring 2019 semester off from college and my sister Ashanti who is also a college student chose to put her studies on hold to be home to support me as I went through treatments.
On June 10 I completed my last chemo and in August I returned to college. My advice to anyone who is battling is to keep fighting, stay strong, trust God and never lose faith!