Olivia Jennings, a 20-year-old woman from Melbourne, had been feeling fatigued and rundown for a few months before she visited her doctor in October 2022, believing she had the flu. However, after a blood test revealed that her inflammatory markers were high, her doctor suspected that she had a urinary tract infection (UTI) and prescribed antibiotics. The next morning, Olivia woke up with sweats and went to a private emergency room. A CT scan showed that she did not have a kidney stone but a swollen lymph node and fluid on her heart. After waiting 24 hours for a bed to become available, doctors conducted further tests on Olivia, including a biopsy that determined she had cancer in her neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. It was on January 25th when she was officially diagnosed with Stage 3B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a blood cancer.
Olivia had been experiencing various symptoms, including lower back pain, fatigue, and a cough that would not go away for three months before her diagnosis. She also had a small, painful lump above her left collarbone, and on the night before visiting her doctor, she had night sweats. Doctors say that Olivia was lucky to have caught the cancer when she did as it was on the brink of spreading further through her body. Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare form of cancer that starts in a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes. It begins in a lymph node, usually in the neck, then spreads through the lymphatic system from one group of lymph nodes to another.
Olivia was given the devastating news in the hospital with her mum by her side. It was a strange feeling, and she did not know how to react. She kept her spirits high in the hospital by making jokes to get through her life-changing cancer diagnosis. Olivia has been receiving treatment for five months and has three sessions left. After the first two months, the cancer was “almost gone,” and she won’t need to have any surgery to “finish the job.”
Prior to her diagnosis, Olivia said she had worked out four times a week, never smoked a cigarette, barely drank alcohol, and ate healthily most of the time. She also has no history of cancer in her immediate family. The doctors told her that it did not matter what she did lifestyle-wise, and it was just one of those things where she could not have prevented the cancer from happening. Hodgkin lymphoma is often diagnosed at an early stage and is therefore considered one of the most treatable cancers. Approximately 600 people in Australia are diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma every year, with most of them being younger people aged 15 to 29 and older people over the age of 65. It is more common in men than women.
As for the side effects of the treatment, Olivia has been experiencing full-body aches and pains, fatigue, sickness, pain, and hair loss. When her hair began falling out, she thought she would be upset about it, but she wasn’t. She had long, blonde hair, but it all fell out during treatment. Olivia hasn’t been working or studying since becoming unwell but has made money renting out dresses from her wardrobe. She has around 20 outfits available, with a few constantly in rotation every week, making Olivia anywhere between $60 and $100. It gives her something to do, and she likes organizing it all; she even donates some of the money to charity.
Olivia hopes that her story will raise awareness about Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, commonly known as a “young person’s disease.” Despite her cancer diagnosis, Olivia is staying positive and optimistic about her future.
