My Cancer Fight – Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

This page is a chronological repository of all my cancer-related posts.

**Check out my Down With Lumpy podcast that presents an audio version of these posts as well as reflections/analysis from five years later. It’s available on all major podcast networks!**

In January 2015, I was diagnosed with Stage IIa Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I spent the next six months undergoing chemotherapy, and my personal blog suddenly became my cancer blog: a place for me to document my treatment as well as all the related experiences and emotions that go along with looking cancer squarely in the eye and kicking it in the face.

One of my goals in documenting my experience was to be a potential resource for others who are facing a similar trial. Obviously every cancer is different, but I tried to be as honest and open as possible about my experience, treatments and medications, advice and opinions from my oncologists, and any other topic that I thought a just-diagnosed person might be frantically Googling about (as I did after my diagnosis). I hope my posts can be educational, inspirational and maybe even a little bit funny to anyone in a similar situation who happens upon them.

Please share this page with anyone you know who might find it useful. If you are fighting Hodgkins, feel free to contact me at roundingthirty@gmail.com.

A Lump in My Throat
Announcing and dealing with the fact that I might have cancer.
Podcast version

Baby’s First Surgery
Chronicling the surgery to remove some of the lymph nodes in my neck to make a full diagnosis.
Podcast version

The Uncertainty of the Waiting Game
My emotions while waiting to get the results from my surgery and a full diagnosis.
Podcast version

The Cancer Diagnosis
Pretty self-explanatory.
Podcast version

“Matt Takes Tests” Week, Part 1
Matt takes a pulmonary functions test.
Podcast version of Parts 1 & 2

“Matt Takes Tests” Week, Part 2
Matt gets his first PET scan.

“Matt Takes Tests” Week, Part 3
Matt gets a bone marrow aspiration. Yuck.
Podcast version of Parts 3 & 4

“Matt Takes Tests” Week, Part 4
Matt gets a MUGA heart scan.

First, We Get A Second Opinion
After completing all my tests to qualify for chemo, we got a second opinion on the diagnosis from the University of Chicago.
Podcast version

Top 10 Other Things ABVD Stands For
If you can’t laugh at chemo, you’re doing it wrong.

A Few of “My Favorite” Things
I was blessed throughout my experience by tremendous support from family and friends. If you know someone with cancer, maybe this post will inspire you to support someone in your life suffering from this disease.
Podcast version

Port Authority
Matt gets a port installed in anticipation of chemotherapy.
Podcast version

The #DownWithLumpy Movement
My first chemotherapy treatment and the supportive social media campaign organized by my wife!

Chasing Normalcy
I describe the ensuing symptoms after my first chemotherapy treatment.

No Chemo For You
Thanks to my neutropenic white blood cell counts, my second chemotherapy treatment was delayed.

Valentine’s Day Greetings from Lumpy & Me
Need some cancer-themed valentines to give out? I’ve got you covered.

My Valentine’s Day Hospital Getaway
My wife and I spent our first married Valentine’s Day in the hospital after I developed a neutropenic fever.

How to Stop Worrying About Male Pattern Baldness
Thoughts on losing my hair and shaving my head.

Suffering Well
More thoughts on dealing with my ever-growing array of chemotherapy side effects.

Chemo #3: A Hard Day’s Night
Got another fever before chemo #3, but stayed out of the hospital this time.

More Cowbell, Please
Another fever and another trip to the hospital after chemo #3.

Baby Steps to NED
Reacting to the preliminary results of my halfway PET scan.

A Lack of Black and White
My PET scan results were inconclusive, so I had multiple options for how to continue my treatment.

Halfway Done…Again!
Because of my PET results, I needed to have two more cycles of chemotherapy than I originally thought.

A Cancer Patient’s Guide to Netflix
If you’re looking for good TV shows to watch while recuperating from chemo, this is for you.

2/3 Done! (for real)
I had chemo treatment 8 of 12 and wrote a post that walked through a typical chemo session and what that experience entailed.

Faith, Hope and Technology
A post I wrote about how my faith, my friends and social media have helped me in my cancer fight.

Double Digit Chemo
Thoughts after my 10th chemo treatment.

One More for the Road
Thoughts after my 11th chemo treatment.

The Last Chemotherapy Treatment of My Life
Thoughts after the last chemotherapy treatment of my life.

One More PET Scan
My experience getting my final PET scan.

No Evidence of Disease
Thoughts on my clear final PET scan results.

Remission Accomplished
A play-by-play of getting my final PET scan results

De-Ported: Goodbye, Chemo Port!
A play-by-play of my port removal experience.

Three-Month Remission Report
I’ve been cancer-free for three months and got my check-up PET scan.

‘Down With Lumpy Day,’ One Year Later
Revisiting the day I started chemotherapy

Six Months in the Clear
In remission for six months, I get a follow-up CT scan.

Is It Time to Find a New Oncologist?
My oncologist has had some issues for a long time, and I think I should demand better care. (I eventually did find a new oncologist and have been much happier!)

One Year of Remissioning
I’m on a new mission now…I have a daughter!

On Two Years of Remission
I guess I don’t blog about cancer that much anymore! Here are my thoughts after two years of remission.

Three Years After Chemo: A Look Back at the Toughest 6 Months of My Life
I wrote this on the anniversary of my first day of chemotherapy with some thoughts about what it’s like to be a lymphoma survivor.

Five Years After My Cancer Diagnosis
A short reflection on my fifth cancer-versary.

Officially Cured of Cancer
Putting a bow on my cancer experience.