Living with Lymphoma

When I was first diagnosed in September 2008, Barry and I spent a lot of time online researching my cancer, and we each independently decided to order the book "Living with Lymphoma: A Patient's Guide" by Elizabeth Adler. It's considered one of the the most respected reference books for my disease, and is recently published, in 2005. Dr Adler is a neurobiologist who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1996.

At that time I was unable to read physical books. They were too heavy for my hands to hold in my weakened condition, and I could not concentrate at all. Barry read it and reported that it was a very comprehensive treatment of lymphoma, and recommended that I read it when I could.

In the last month, although my fatigue has not lessened, my weakness has and I have been able to read books again to a limited degree. I managed to read some parts of Dr Adler's book.

Although the book is very scientific, the pages that I took the most inspiration from were the ones where she talked about using guided imagery. It's well known that the state of your mind can influence the state of your body. I downloaded an imagery tape from the internet and loaded it into my iPod just this week. I use the tape during my chemo sessions to visualize the chemicals cleansing my body of the lymphoma cells. Although my jury is still out, it does seem to produce a sense of inner peace that I really need.