Currently, Miglė has completed one course of chemotherapy and is expecting the second one soon. “I feel very good, which surprised me because I thought it would be much worse. Of course, I experienced nausea, extreme fatigue even after ten hours of sleep, but after a couple of days, I got back into rhythm, wanting to move, walk, work. So that’s what I live by – trying not to fall out of the usual rhythm of life. Especially since I really love to travel, I am active, so at first, I was afraid that the treatment might slow down my usual life,” Miglė shared.
A very insidious disease
Speaking about the first symptoms of cancer, the young woman says that Hodgkin’s lymphoma (she was diagnosed at stage three) is a very insidious disease. She felt the first symptoms back in January, but they just resembled a virus or a cold.
“I had a runny nose and cough, my throat itched, and I had coughing fits. I also dealt with sinusitis – I went to the doctor, who, after tests, found that my sinuses were blocked, so I had to take antibiotics. During the time I was being treated, none of the antibiotics (I took four in total) helped, CRB levels did not drop, and blood markers did not improve. Since I have a wonderful family doctor, she did not give up and kept looking for why I was not getting better,” Miglė shared.
A chest X-ray was performed, and pneumonia was diagnosed. The young woman says that all symptoms fully matched the disease, so there were no questions. However, over time, the situation did not improve, so she ended up at Santariškės. There, tests were done, and she had to take another round of antibiotics because the sinusitis did not subside. “Later, I went to a pulmonologist, who sent me for a CT scan because fluid was accumulating in my lungs. The doctor wanted to find out if there were any chronic diseases,” the young woman said.
At that time, the situation did not change, the temperature rose, and Miglė continued visiting one doctor after another. Eventually, she felt an enlarged lymph node in her neck. Even that seemed normal since she had been treating a cold for a long time, but later her face and neck started to swell, and the lymph node kept growing. After an ultrasound, it turned out that there were many more enlarged lymph nodes.
“Finally, with all the symptoms, I was admitted to Santariškės and had a lymph node biopsy, and the CT scan results revealed that I had an 8.9 cm mass in the mediastinum. After the biopsy, I found out that I have Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, I still had to undergo a PET scan – positron emission tomography – to understand how much the disease had spread and what treatment to start, and that took time,” the young woman explained, adding that she had to wait about a month for this test.
She adds that she wanted to start treatment as soon as possible, but there are indeed many oncology patients, so the notification about the test could come at any time. As she says, on Monday, when she came to work and received a call, she immediately rushed to the PET scan. After this test, she learned that she was at stage three of the disease, and doctors also saw an 11.9 cm mass.
The wait did not scare her
Miglė shares that she is a positive person, so neither the wait nor the diagnosis threw her off balance. “Of course, it is unpleasant to hear such a diagnosis, but at least I knew what was wrong with me. That suffering with a bunch of medications and poor well-being also weighed heavily on me, so it is definitely better to know than not to know,” the young woman said.
Currently, Miglė is on the treatment path, facing several chemotherapy sessions and medical monitoring and decisions on what treatment to apply or continue.
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“People ask me if I am not working now because I am sick and have to be treated. But it all depends on how you feel, and it is different for everyone. I am glad that I can both work and enjoy life and meet friends while undergoing treatment,” the young woman said.
She heard the diagnosis very young – Miglė recently turned 25. She says there were several cancer cases in her family, so she even jokes that could it have been any different for her? But it is precisely this humor that helps her in everyday life. “I think I am young, so maybe I will recover faster, get better sooner? That is my attitude towards this whole situation and disease,” the young woman does not lack positivity.
What has the disease changed?
Asked how the disease changes her, Miglė openly says she definitely does not lose positivity. When her boyfriend asked if her attitude changed after hearing the diagnosis, she answered with a question – how does it look to him?
“And my boyfriend said that my attitude has always been good. And that is true. Maybe some small things have appeared that I value even more. Today I am very grateful for my environment, friends, family, colleagues who are very caring and encourage me to talk about the disease publicly,” the young woman said.
Starting to talk about what it means to live with the disease, Miglė says she realized how many good people are around who support her, and that means a lot to her.
“I noticed that people around me are caring, but I really did not expect them to be so caring. When I posted my first entry about the disease, I did not think I would get attention – people shared, commented, and wrote beautiful messages. That means a lot to me. My goal is to spread the message that you need to take care of your health. Do not dismiss common symptoms but rather get checked. Even a simple cough should not be ignored. I invite people to take care of themselves and their loved ones. The disease is not a sentence; people live normal lives with the disease. Just do not forget that your health comes first,” Miglė said.
She adds that having a community around her with whom she can share challenges during the disease, consult, and talk is also very important. “I met people who are going through the same thing, and being in the same boat is truly healing. We share and move forward,” the young woman said.
Miglė says that today she most wishes for people who have heard the diagnosis not to lose positivity, to find someone to talk to, to notice beautiful things, and never stop laughing. “Most importantly, do not forget to check your health,” Miglė said.
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