MY CANCER STORY. Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 21 

last round of chemo for me is July 7th!!! Update: I'm cancer free :))

I'm also a Hodgekins Lymphoma survivor. Stage 4 & that was 35 yrs. ago!

Prayers, support and well wishes to you from an ABVD Hodgkins pt, now 33 years cancer free. Keep the faith.

My wife was 30 when she was diagnosed with the same stage 4 as you 6 months after having our son who is 2 now. She got the usual ABVD regime in Australia and has been in remission 1 year now. She didn’t need the white blood cell booster thankfully. She took the nausea tablets as well. She went through same emotions as you. She had a pic line in her arm because she hated needles. Some studies suggest pregnancy brings on hodgkins disease/lymphoma. Sometime I think it was the chemicals in our town water supply. I also thought it was the non stick frying pans or air fryer chemicals. Happy she is healthy now. Praying everyday.

I'm 22 waiting for my biopsy in a week and I have barely started your video but hearing how you are like me having watched all of these videos and kept so much information and gathered it to talk about it, it's like you made this for me. Thank you thank you for doing this

I got diagnosed 2 weeks ago; its been so hard everyday, im so tired ; thank you for this

I had breast cancer almost twenty years ago,, you get through the surgery and treatment because you have no option....its only when its finished that the enormity of the whole thing hits you, like ptsd, and it never ever leaves you! It changed my life forever and not for the good, its made me so anxious and fearful, though if you met me you wouldn't think so.

My son is 29 he had non hodgkins lymphoma stage 4. He had six months of intense chemo and has been in remission for a year now. Happy for you x

I’m doing the same thing at the moment: I’ve probably watched 30+ videos about Lymphoma and other types of cancer of the blood/lymphatic system. For months, everybody around me including my GP, have been downplaying my symptoms and concerns. Last year I fell into depression, so everyone thinks my issues are psychological. Lots of unexplained weightloss, loss of appetite, breathlessness, chest pains, swollen belly, lumps in my nek and cheek, fatigue, constant infections, bruises, sore all the time... ALL my symptoms COULD be bloodcancer related, and yet people say it’s stress. Finally seeing a hematologist in an academic hospital in two weeks, I hope for once someone will believe me. Until then I will keep watching these videos for some kind of comfort. 😕

I think you are a terrific person. I’ve just finished having uterine cancer and went through a lot too. I just turned 70 and following your videos was such a help to me.

So happy for you Kam!!

So happy for you!!!! ❤️

Thank you for sharing your story - so so glad you are a cancer survivor!

I’m so incredibly proud of you!!

I am happy for you kam you are so strong💜I am currently in chemotherapy, waiting for the day to be a lymphoma survivor

Call me crazy, but I've seen a lot of these videos and bias aside, this video is truly the best I've seen. Shoutout to you for taking each battle in stride, sharing the reality of your journey, and still putting on your beautiful smile 💕 I'm so proud of you Kam and hope you are living your best life on a beach right now celebrating BIG time 💪

You are a true warrior Kam. You have come out of this stronger then ever before. Now it's time to move forward and live life to the fullest.

Respect to you Kam. I cant imagine what its like to go through this, love and peace for everyone!

so happy for you!!! god bless you

I’m so happy that you are now cancer free! Take care of yourself and God bless you!

You are truly amazing! Thank you for telling us your story, it will reassure people who are just starting this journey. I really wish you well! Xx

So glad you made it through🙌🏼💗 Great vid, thank you 🙏🏼😊

Thank you for sharing and being so vulnerable. Happy you made it through and con continue to inspire others.

Such a strong and amazing human being! So happy for you!!!!!!

Kam thank you for sharing ! You are such a sweetheart and your story will be helping a lot of people going through the same thing ❤️❤️

I'm so glad you can put the cancer behind you. Great detailed video with lots of information, thank you!

Congratulations this a massive achievement to be so proud of xx

God is so good 🙏🏻I’m so happy for you girl ❤️

I love you Kam! Your videos are my favorite! 💛💛 I am so happy your cancer free!

I am a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor as well. I was 23, but that was way back in 96. Treatment has come a long way.

Kam, you have a gorgeous smile. Thank you for sharing your story.

You have such a lovely voice!, and such a soothing personality. I’m so glad I was able to stumble across your videos, most definitely to hear your survivor story. ❤️

Beautiful lady xx So happy that you are doing this ❤ . You have helped so many people already ,big big cuddles from me . Xxxx

Don’t let the bastards get you down! You are a wonderfully strong woman and I’m so happy that you’re healthy!

I love you! Stay strong and spread positive vibes to everyone. 💗

Yay! Congratulations! My girlfriend has been so worried, you are part of our conversation several times a week, we are so happy for you and proud of you for keeping it real and positive!

i’m so glad you’re doing better! i’ve been in remission from stage IIB neuroendocrine cancer for over two years, and it feels so good! it’s hard getting back to “normal” after stuff like this, i feel like i’m only now starting to find some sense of normalcy with everything that happened to me (i say that as i prepare for surgery to repair some herniated incisions in three days 😭). keep kicking it for all us cool cancer kids!!

I love this so much 💜 I used to watch these videos all the time too before and right after my diagnosis. I can relate to so much of your experience and I’m SO GLAD you’re healthy now ✨💕 You’re amazing

My little brother just got diagnosed the same type of cancer and really help to understand a bit of how much are you going through, hope the best for all of you fighting cancer🙏

Thank you so much for sharing your story your journey and this video is so helpful. Congratulations on your recovery stay positive and continue to shine. Your amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. It was very informative. I pray that you continue to be in the clear.

UR smile is everything ....Beautiful positive spirit

this kind of video is amazing to get the patient perspective as i am an aspiring haem/oncologist and your experience is so informative

you are SO beautiful, so strong and SO unbelievably inspiring... you really are glowing now, and i am so so sO happy for you... congratulations on kicking cancer's butt!!!! you are AMAZING!

So happy for you that you are 100% cured. I too had Hodgkin lymphoma stage 4 in the lungs as well. I had a different treatment which wasn’t a choice. Unfortunately I still have a mass in my chest but doctor tells me I’m in remission no trace of cancer. I fear it coming back but I have to remind myself to be positive and believe it won’t come back. Anyways I am so happy for you! Best wishes to you ! ❤

This was helpful! Your explanations were great

Love hearing your story

Thank you for sharing. I had different type of cancer and it’s great to be able to connect with patients and survivors alike by learning others’ insights and experiences. You’re a brave girl and I wish you all the best!

You're such a beautiful soul♡ I think about you often and send love your way♡ you seem to have such a wonderful loving and supportive family. Hope all is well😊

I’m glad that you’ve recovered! I have a friend who lost his mother to cancer a week ago (he’s 11/12 years old) and he is coming back to school this Monday. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in your shoes, however I am quite scared of getting cancer. Having a friend of mine lose his mom to cancer + seeing a BUNCH of cancer stories on my recommended has made me really think about how I view life and just cancer in general.

That is the story of an amazing journey. Chemotherapy and cancer sound scary. I pray for a better treatment and prevention of this terrible disease. But onward and upward Kam!

I’m sooo happy, for you.. Thank god for your healing ...🙏🏻🥰🌸🙌🏻🙏🏻

So happy for you Wish you the best in the future And with the strenght that you showed you had to get past these hard times, I believe you will achieve everything you sey your mind to. Also very inpirational story.

You are amazing. Thank you for sharing your story. I lost my brother and mother both to cancer and my sister is a beast cancer survivor. So I'm very familiar with what you've been through. I love your videos and to hear your talk about it all. Thank you.

Good luck on your fight, you're such a cutie! Best smile on RU-vid.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and brave journey. You are a true Blessing. Now enjoy life to the fullest. Big Hugs to YOU!

Thanks for sharing your story! I'm glad you are ok. I absolutely can relate to everything you said as I just finished AbVD in March of this year for stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma

One of my friends went this just a yr ago. U are explaining your journey very very well. Thanks for diagrams etc. Be safe.

I enjoyed watching your video and hearing your story, love your personality and sense of humor 2 ❤ your so strong. Keep swimming pretty ❤

CONGRATULATIONS!!

So happy for you💜💙💚

Very nice informative video that I've ever seen on RU-vid before. You did a wonderful job young lady, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain your story in great detail. My Mother had Uterine Cancer in 2014 and is Cancer free now. I also have had friends that I've lost to Cancer and it's not an easy thing to talk about. You went through so much honey and I'm so happy for you. Much love and respect to you. May God bless you and your family. Hugs

So so happy for you 🤍🥺🙏🏻

u r amazing !!!! sending lotss of loveee and hugssss

You are so strong.🌸💙

You have traveled a rocky road and persevered! I appreciate you effort to share your story to help others. You inspire me Kam!

You go girl. I had hodgkins lymphoma in 2010. Just borderline stage 2-3 and I thought that was rough.

Soooo happy for you 🤗 xxx

Wishing you continued remission and your cure. I’m a 3x HD survivor w a BMT in 2009, anything is possible ❤

Hi, I’m so in awe of you and how you have helped yourself so much. I cared for my mum for the last 6 months of her life, which was a privilege, but gruelling. Lots of the problems we had were appetite related, and to do with mouth discomfort. I would try EVERYTHING to get Mum to eat. The trouble was, her clinicians said “do not take anything other than what we prescribe”. There is so much I could have done to ease mums discomfort, but because of this rigidity, and her fear of doing “something wrong”, supplements and alternative options were out of the window. She had a lot of complications, including long covid, and pericarditis, so her story isn’t straight forward. However, I think better education on self care and preventative supplements, would really be useful in the U.K. you are inspiring. The way you have met with this challenge really is inspirational. Chemo being so gruelling, it would be so easy to give up on nutrition, but you aced it. If I could go back in time, which sadly I can’t, I would do a lot of things differently for mum, including challenging the consultant on persuading mum to not take supplements. At the very least she may have still been able to enjoy food. Mum would have loved your story. Keep sharing info as it really does help others, and it important for your emotional well-being. You’ve had a rough ride, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to achieve optimum fitness too soon, because your body needs to recover, as well as your soul. Keep up the good work 😀

I hope you get better!

Praying for you and God bless you 🙏🏻❤️

I have binge watched all of your lymphoma journey videos in the last 24 hours and my gosh you are so so strong. I am so happy to see that you are cancer free and continuing to feel better. I can only imagine that your videos have been and will continue to be a huge support for people fighting cancer! I wish you all the happiness 💕

Thank you for sharing so much of the hardest parts of your life at such a young age. I'm sure it will help tons of people who are going through this or will go through this. You are amazing and I hope you know that!

Hi Kam, you are very inspiring!

love you always and am so happy for you.

Thank you for sharing your story 💗

Thank you for sharing your story. I pray for you and your health. your optimism has been incredibly inspiring ❤️❤️❤️

You are awesome Kam! I think I mentioned before that I haven’t had cancer but know too many that have.... and I have other illnesses that greatly impacted my life. I just think the world of you because you are real and not pretentious or attention seeking.... you are a mature young woman who has gone thru such a difficult time and you have done it with such grace. I am so beyond happy for you and happy that you have shared your journey with us. You ARE going to help people and change lives💕😘😘

You are a warrior!! I am so inspired by you. I’ve been recently diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer two months ago. I started watching your videos since being diagnosed and it has brought me so much comfort and inspiration.

So wild, I went to UW and now work in clinical trials with some studies involving brentuximab, and it’s so fulfilling to see someone who that has helped. I feel like this video was meant for me to see. I’m in awe of your strength and positivity!!!!

I just want to tell you first of all, that you are one of the most beautiful souls I have ever seen. I don’t know where you get your positive attitude from, but I think your parents must have done a great job raising you. Now, I have to tell you that I happened upon your video because I am of course terrified I myself have cancer now. Hopefully Hodgkins, as odd as that sounds, because I know it’s one of the most curable. Just for reference, I am a 44 year old woman, although I would say that I am told I don’t look my age, and I definitely don’t ACT my age. I’m a server in a restaurant, so most of my best girl friends are your age. Maybe that’s why I feel like I am your friend already 💞. Your story specifically sounds SOOOOO close to mine. I haven’t been officially diagnosed yet. I have had several doctor appts because I have fibromyalgia, but lately I have been having sooooo much pain, and telling my doctor that something feels really off. Well my bloodwork looks almost identical to yours. Except my white blood count is only slightly low. However, my hemoglobin right now is a 7.2. They wanted to give me an infusion, but I refused because I was scared. I didn’t realize at the time I might have cancer though, I just thought I was tired, so I will take the pills. Well I had to go back to my doctor today because I am short of breathe and having so much pain in my sternum area. Also, I have been itching like CRAZY. I don’t know if u ever had that symptom?! I also suffer from night sweats and fevers. Last month was the first time I had a random fever. It only lasted 24 hrs, then went away. I had one the following week as well. I kept thinking, maybe I have Covid, and it a weird form! Lol. So anyways, today I finally went in to my family doctors. He DEMANDED I start taking my iron 3x a day. He said I could actually end up needing a transfusion if I fall just .2 percent more. He had me get a chest and stomach x-ray, and that is where the scary part has come in. They sent me a message saying they see a 2 cm density in my Suprahilar region, and are ordering a CT scan. I am also getting an ultrasound of my liver, as I have been experiencing pain in that area really bad. So anyways, thank you for sharing hour story. Did you say you did have a nodule on your lung?! I wasn’t sure. But thank you for sharing everything and your positive attitude. As someone who already suffers from depression I am scared of dealing with the emotions, but seeing you handle It so gracefully gives me hope. I am so happy for you, and u r such a brave, strong warrior. Your future is so bright. I can’t wait to see more videos from you.

Awh I’m so happy for you. I’ve been watching you throughout your journey; you are so strong and you radiate so much light and good energy even in the hardest times💕

I hope you are well, you are beautiful and you talking about helps a lot of people

sooooooo happy for you Kam. Loved watching your chemo diaries from afar, watching your positive light shine through and sending you lots of love from afar (melb, aus). xxx

Congrats! Now you can go back to being a twenty something worrying about bad hair days. Thank you being brave enough to share your story...and brave enough to fight. It was so insightful. Stay positive!

It's amazing how far we have come in medicine. I'm a biology and neuroscience student and I'd love to take part in finding new ways to treat this horrible horrible thing. You are extremely strong and I am very happy for you!

CONGRATULATIONS..I also survived the big C..Stay well Young lady..

I can’t listen to you without crying. Just want to give you hugs. I had surgeries, chemo and radiation for breast cancer. I know what you mean about the feelings you have when you’re in pain and exhausted and as low as you can go. I had the neulasta shots. I had to take Tylenol 3 at some times. I feel so bad for you having to go through this. You are so sweet. So happy you are getting better. Thank you for posting. I’m now 8 years out and feeling great (except for the state of the world right now) 💕

Bravo! You are brilliant.. I can see you becoming a doctor.

You are amazing. Thank you for sharing your story 💞 btw, love the hoody and headscarf, the colours suit you so much! Xo

thank you for sharing your story with us❤️

I have watched many videos like yours + I must say that your video is a rare one that makes me see chemotherapy as the appropriate treatment for cancer. Usually patients go through the treatment only to be told that their cancer has spread, that none of the chemo works + they end up on a clinical trial as a last resort, or they die during treatment. I bet everyone who watched your video feels like I do - that if ever get cancer I want the Dr's you had treating me. Your video is the rare one that does give people hope. For that reason I "Thank- You" for posting it. I hope you have a wonderful life. Your inner strength to have gone through such an ordeal at such a young age + emerge victorious over a battle that many lose says a lot about you. Your video is much appreciated!

@Kam Schalk 🎊 Congratulations Iam so happy for you.

I went through this too...please make sure you keep an eye on your heart

Thank you for sharing your story with such candour and good humour. Detailing your experience with ABVD chemotherapy is very helpful. I’m sure your lovely, positive attitude will see you in good stead as you leave this chapter behind. Take good care and thanks again for your inspirational and uplifting vlog.

You are so beautiful and strong!

I’am a survivor as well same cancer you took me back to the time I was sick I totally understand every single word you explain here take care dear you will survive and have a great life this will be just a dream there is life after cancer

You're awesome you're ❤️ beautiful. Thanks for teaching us.

Thank you for sharing your journey! I'm a medical student starting clinical rotations soon, so I've spent the past 2 years just reading about diseases. Following your journey really helped me understand the patient side of things. So, so, so happy you're cancer-free!! Blessings to you!