A Second Chance I Never Knew I Had After Lymphoma

Linda Cohen is a survivor of small lymphocytic lymphoma and was diagnosed in 2009. Catch up on all of Linda's blogs here!

For 15 years, I have lived as a lymphoma survivor, never free from anxiety and worry. Through great effort and discipline, I have learned to compartmentalize these feelings. It’s the only way I know to avoid wasting the precious time I’ve been given.

More than a year ago, a CT scan showed my disease had progressed. My doctor was almost certain it had transformed into a very aggressive type of lymphoma.

He prepared me for the worst, explaining that I would need intensive chemotherapy. I told myself I would do whatever it took. Before proceeding, he scheduled a PET scan to determine the most active area for a biopsy. The scan would show which lymph nodes had the highest metabolic activity, guiding our next steps.

When I saw my doctor’s name on my phone, my anxiety surged. I answered, bracing myself.

“I have great news!” he said. “You don’t need the biopsy! The metabolic activity in the largest lymph nodes is the same as in the smallest ones—there’s no increase. This means the disease has not transformed into a more aggressive type. What you have has worsened, but instead of chemotherapy, you’ll take a pill twice a day that will shrink your lymph nodes. There’s no explanation for this. I even consulted my colleagues, and they agreed. It’s like a miracle!”

I was stunned. I had prayed fervently, and I do believe in prayer. Sometimes my prayers are answered, sometimes they aren’t. My family and friends had prayed, too. We all knew the situation was serious, but I didn’t fully grasp just how serious. I was beyond relieved to avoid aggressive chemotherapy, but after that, I didn’t dwell on it.

I try to keep up with the latest research because knowing I still have options is important to me. Last week, I listened to a podcast about emerging treatments. The doctor on the podcast described exactly what had happened to me a year ago. He explained that in the past, when a patient’s disease progressed in that way, their prognosis was often less than a year. Then he discussed new treatments that are showing promise in clinical trials —treatments not yet available but hopefully coming soon.

I paused the podcast and took a deep breath. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how grave my situation could have been. The weight of it hit me hard. A year ago, if the new enlarged lymph nodes had shown higher metabolic activity, my prognosis might have been devastating.

This realization made me appreciate even more how quickly cancer research is advancing. What wasn’t available for me a year ago may soon offer patients a longer future. It reminded me that, in my case, every day truly counts — more than I had understood at the time. That phone call from my doctor meant I was luckier than I knew, and I now recognize that it’s never too late to feel deep gratitude for every single day of life.

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