Cambria L.
North Dakota
14 Years Old
Diagnosis: Stage 4 Bulky Hodgkin Lymphoma
Theme - Butterflies
Favorite Colors: Dark Purple, Dark Blue
Cambria's Journey
My 14 year old daughter, Cambria, was recently diagnosed with Advanced Stage 4 Bulky Hodgkin Lymphoma. A few weeks ago, we went to the doctor's office to get her a sports physical but couldn't get in. Since we were already there, we decided to have the Doctor at the walk-in clinic look at a swollen lymph node in her neck that had been there for about a month. The doctor examined her and asked about if she had been having any other symptoms such as a fever, unexplainable weight loss, shortness of breath or any other sickness but she had not, she had no other symptoms. The doctor ordered some blood work and we went home. The next day, our entire world changed. The doctor called and told us she found some things in Cambria's blood work and we were being referred to Pediatric Oncology. We met with the Oncologist the next day and did a CT scan. They found a large 5" tumor in her chest, wrapped around her trachea. We were then referred to the Roger Maris Cancer Center halfway across the state. In the last few weeks, we have driven back and forth to the cancer center for more tests, a PET scan, a biopsy and surgery to implant an infusion port. Cambria has done a fertility ultrasound and evaluation, she will be put on injections to try to get her ovaries into hibernation, with the hopes that someday she MAY have a small chance of having children. She's done an EKG and an ECHO so we can track how much the chemo infusions will damage her other organs. We will be traveling across the state again numerous times and will be starting chemo infusions. Cambria was hit with this out of the blue. She just got her permit and was learning to drive. She got a part time job to save up for her own car; she had been practicing volleyball all summer, participating in volleyball sports camps getting ready for tryouts and picking out clothes for her first day of high school, just like any other normal teenage girl but now all of that is on hold and she is in the fight of and for her life.
