Posted on 06/28/2023 7:19:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Diagnosed with Stage 4 follicular lymphoma at the age of 45, Meta's Nicola Mendelsohn overcame the darkest moments of her life, fought back and now helps others through her international Follicular Lymphoma Foundation and a Facebook support group.
A social media honcho and mum-of-four, Nicola Mendelsohn’s life was in full swing in 2016 when she unexpectedly discovered a pea-sized lump at her groin while showering.
She called a girlfriend, a doctor, who arranged for her to see a specialist in London, United Kingdom, where she and her family were living then. “He thought I was fine. I was leaving and literally had my coat on when he said, let’s do a scan,” recalled the 52-year-old, who is now based in New York, where she is Head of Global Business Group at Meta.
“The scan came back and there were with tumours everywhere in my chest area.” It was Stage Four follicular lymphoma, or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system, part of the body’s immune system responsible for fighting infections and diseases. This disease typically affects people over the age of 60. Mendelsohn was only 45.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com ...
A couple of ground breaking therapies were approved by the FDA since she was diagnosed (2016) - CAR-T and BiSpecific antibodies, among others. As with other cancers life expectancy changes, sometimes dramatically, with new therapies coming to market compared to what doctors initially give the patient when they are diagnosed.
My dad was diagnosed with terminal lymphoma back in 1993. They gave him 6 months to live. He fell into a depression.
One day, my sister marched into his bedroom and exclaimed, “Get up! I’m putting new parts on my car and I need you. You aren’t allowed to die yet!”
About 15 minutes later, he was outside helping her. Her ultimate custom car would go on to win many first place trophies.
He would live to see all his children married, welcome 7 more grandchildren to the world, and see two grandchildren graduate from college.
He passed in 2015.
So glad this woman beat it.
Cancer is evil.
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