|
|
|
Lauren's Recovery
September 12, 2008 |
When Lauren Barraco noticed a lump on her collarbone she wasn’t thinking cancer.
But at just 20 years old that’s exactly what she was up against. “I was
diagnosed in February ’05,” she says.
At the time of the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Lauren was student at the
University of South Florida in Tampa. But she and her family decided she would
undergo treatment in Ft. Myers. “Treatments were long, they were like three or
four hours. The first day everyone came, my family, extended family, friends, it
was like everybody,” Lauren says. But even with a strong support system, the
months of chemotherapy took their toll on Lauren’s young body. “I had cramps, my
legs hurt. I would actually roll my legs with a rolling pin or have my mom do
it. Just got sick and started losing my hair a little.” But Lauren continued to
fight and actually was able to end her treatment a few months early. “I’m really
glad my parents had me come back here because it's the best care I could have
asked for, best doctors, best technicians, everybody was great.”
After treatment, Lauren moved back to Fort Myers and accepted a softball
scholarship at Florida Gulf Coast University. Now three years later, Lauren has
a new and healthy perspective on life. “I put everything into perspective -
don’t take things for granted, enjoy, just enjoy and have fun and tell everybody
that I love them.” Lauren says she often drops in on the physicians and nurses
who cared for her and she describes going in for check-ups as a treat.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of
cancer. The relative survival rate for people under 20 years old is more than 95
percent. |
|
|
|
