Faith Beats Cancer

Hi! I’m Nicole Dar. 21. Born a Cancer & a Cancer survivor. And that makes me a badass.

On December 23, 2016 my life changed forever. I was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal B Cell Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin’s, Stage 2E. A type of blood cancer and is the most common one.

Cancer. A word that can shatter anyone’s world instantly. Powerful, scary word.

I had not been feeling well for 3 months. I had this terrible cough that didn’t go away. I was experiencing weight loss, very itchy skin that left huge dark spots in my legs, thighs & arms, fever & night sweats. After going to numerous doctors & took several antibiotics that didn’t work on me, one of the doctors finally scheduled me for an X-ray & the result suggested that I have to go through a CT-Scan. Immediately they scheduled me for a CT-Scan of my chest and waited 2 days for the result and they found a 6cm mass pressing the airway located under my breast bone and recommended that I have to undergo a biopsy.

I had to go for a biopsy twice because the first one failed to determine what my disease was.

The second procedure is called Core Biopsy which is thrice worse than the regular biopsy. After I regained my strength from the pain it caused me, I was then scheduled for a PET-CT Scan which will scan your whole body and is one of the fastest ways to detect cancer nowadays. Because other than detecting if there is cancer in your system, it also reveals your cancer stage & if the cancer has spread out.

Of course, anxiety was my twin sister during my darkest days. Especially when I had to wait for a week that it made me google information about Lymphoma and Thymoma. Dr. Google is the worst.

I was praying so hard for a positive result. Because I didn’t feel I had cancer in my body. But the day has come, one of the biggest events in my life, was being told “You have Lymphoma”. I had no idea what it was. All I understood was my tumor grew up to 11cm in a span of 4 weeks. It's a fast growing and aggressive type of cancer. Never once did I think it could be cancer. You see it happen to so many people, but you never think it will happen to you. I lost my mind, wishing it was just a dream. My mind was clouded with “Am I going to die soon?” “Will I survive?” “What is going to happen to me?” and WHAT IFs. I was scared. I cried and cried and cried. I still have a lot of things to do in my life. I want to travel. I want to have a family. I want to spend more time with my mother, siblings, friends… And a whole lot of more. But I need to be strong for my mother and everyone that I love.

I started my treatment immediately. I had 6 cycles of R-CHOP starting from December 27, 2016 to April 25, 2017. My first chemo knocked me out with all the common side effects such as headache, feeling nauseated, fatigue, achy veins, muscle pain, constipation & restless nights. I had treatment every 21 days, I was in this cycle where I’d feel terrible for a week then just as I was starting to feel better I would be back to being poisoned again. That was hard enough, but the worst part for me was losing my hair.

Going through this treatment, losing my hair, gaining so much weight because of steroids, really made knocked my confidence, but Andrei helped me build it back again.

Having cancer was a really traumatic experience. Having cancer really changed the way I think, because I was that person who always thought I am weak. But my cancer experience has proven me that I am a strong woman.

Cancer didn’t stop from doing things I love. Cancer taught me to be more positive, to be confident, to be grateful in life, to be a stronger person and to be more kind. It taught me to never take anything for granted. To step back and appreciate the little things in life. Cancer to me, is truly a blessing. Because my relationship and faith with God grew deeper and stronger. I am a living proof that faith beats cancer. I am a walking miracle.

I wanna share my cancer experience, raise awareness and share my faith to everyone. I want to help others to thrive and survive during their treatment. And to be an inspiration to everyone.

And to anyone who has been diagnosed, always remember that you are not alone. God is with you, I am with you, everyone is here for you. Keep your head up, and be a better bitch than Cancer. No matter what happens, we must keep swimming. ❤💪🏻

#SlayCancer #LymphomaBarbie

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