Support Will's Battle Against Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

On Friday May 17th, 2024, Will was diagnosed with Stage 4 Nodular Sclerosis Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. They located a 6x2.5x5 inch mediastinal mass in his chest cavity that lies between his heart and lungs. With Stage 4, Will also has several other tumors in his lymphatic system that are above and below his diaphragm. His PET scan also indicated potential malignancy within his bone marrow.

Will spent a week in the hospital under intense care. He struggled to breathe and had a violent cough. At the ER, they found a massive blood clot in his left arm, which turned it purple, as well as a plethora of fluid encasing his lungs and heart. CT imaging also noted a large mass that was likely Lymphoma. They whisked him away to Rochester in a helicopter with hopes to get a better understanding of his prognosis. From there, our waiting game began.

Days later, Hematology doctors obtained a lymph node biopsy to confirm his diagnosis. This allowed them to prescribe the appropriate treatments. Nodular Sclerosis Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is very aggressive, but very treatable. In hopes to start shrinking the malignant tumors, they started Chemotherapy the following day.

The current plan is to complete eleven Chemo treatments, one approximately every two weeks, and will take about six months. In between these treatments he will be regularly scanned to check the size of the mediastinal mass. The fluid around his lungs and heart should absorb normally within the body as the mass shrinks. If the Chemotherapy doesn’t resolve the mediastinal mass, they will switch his ongoing treatment to Radiation. Also, in order to continue controlling the size and travel of the blood clot, he will be on a blood thinner medication for the next six months. Thankfully his arm has now returned to its normal color.

About six years ago, Will found out he had an Autoimmune Disorder, resulting in him being immunocompromised. He will not be able to work during these next six months while undergoing eleven treatments of Chemotherapy. That being said, Chemo treatments and Doctor Visits, as well as scans and testing will be quite costly. He may be very ill from the treatment and not be able to be around large groups of people, especially after that first 48 hours. I will also not be able to work full time since I’m his primary caretaker, and could risk his immune system.

Although this has been an extremely trying time for both of us, Will continues to battle this with a positive attitude. We have been informed that we have to keep visits to a minimum, although he would love to hear from others with cards, phone calls, and words of encouragement: if you would like our address, please contact us at [phone redacted].

We just wanted to thank everyone for all the support we have received so far. Having a support group at this time is probably our most precious asset. We will work on posting updates as they come.

FUCHS CANCER.