Support Evan (Steph [Losito] Bishop & Phil Bishop)

I'm writing in an effort to support my niece Evan Bishop and her parents Stephanie (Losito) Bishop and Phillip Bishop as they deal with the impact of a recent and shocking cancer diagnosis. Evan is a 17 year old honor student and athlete entering her senior year of high school in the Fall. In December, she noticed a tiny lesion on her scalp that was thought by all to be a minor cyst or lipoma. After consulting with a surgeon, it became apparent that they were dealing with something much worse.

Over the next few weeks, Evan grew increasing more fatigued, dealt with constant nausea and started losing weight. The lesion grew rapidly and surgery was scheduled to remove the tumor. Evan endured multiple scans and tests, including a spinal tap, bone marrow biopsies and placement of a chemo port. While recovering from surgery, she missed the beginning of her high school tennis season. After being cleared to return, she unfortunately broke her foot in her second match back and was out for the remainder of the season. Again, she took it in stride....boot and all.

This was a difficult case to diagnosis as the medical community has rarely seen this type of presentation in a young person. What was initially expected to be a 2-3 day turn-around-time for pathology results became several weeks of waiting. Evan's amazing team of specialists at Duke University conferred with other experts in the field of pediatric lymphoma, and ultimately agreed on a diagnosis of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). This type of cancer is a fast-growing non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma that affects white blood cells. DLBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma making up about 30 % of all lymphomas, but is normally seen in women over 70.

Because of potential for damage from chemotherapy to the reproductive system, Evan's doctors recommended she undergo fertility treatment to harvest her eggs before starting chemo. She learned to give herself daily fertility shots for three weeks preceding the egg retrieval procedure. She did all this during the last two weeks of her junior year, while studying for finals and A/P Exams, taking the ACT exam and even attended her Jr Prom.

Evan's course of treatment includes rounds of 4-day in-patient chemotherapy at Duke University Hospital followed by three weeks of recovery time. At this point, Evan has completed her first round of chemo and will start her next round in two weeks. Evan has remained up beat and positive, despite worsening fatigue and unrelenting nausea. She jokes about her daily struggles and takes every obstacle in stride. She is looking forward to starting her senior year of high school on time, the start of the fall tennis season, and beginning the college application process. She aspires to attend Duke University and eventually become an Orthodontist.

I am hopeful that you will join me in supporting Evan and her family as they navigate their way through this difficult journey.