A Bump On This Teen’s Head Turned Out To Be A Fast-Growing Cancer Normally Only Seen In Elderly Women
Greensboro, North Carolina. 17-year-old Evan Bishop is about to start her senior year of high school this fall. She’s an avid tennis player and an honor roll student.
When she noticed a little bump on her head back in December, she thought it was just some kind of cyst.
What seemed to not be a big deal turned into a terrible diagnosis. That small bump was actually a fast-growing cancer that’s normally only seen in elderly women.
It’s very rare to find this kind of cancer in someone as young as Evan, and consequently, the medical professionals taking care of her had a tough time reaching the diagnosis.
“What was initially expected to be a 2-3 day turn-around-time for pathology results became several weeks of waiting,” Evan’s aunt Bethany explained on a GoFundMe page.
“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.”
GoFundMe; pictured above is Evan
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Evan has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but since that is harmful to her reproductive system, her doctors had her harvest her eggs prior to starting the chemotherapy.
“She learned to give herself daily fertility shots for three weeks preceding the egg retrieval procedure,” her aunt said.
“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 has finished the first chemotherapy round, and she’s going to begin the second round in a few weeks.
“Evan has remained upbeat and positive, despite worsening fatigue and unrelenting nausea,” her aunt continued.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Evan with her mom
“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.”
Evan dreams of being able to go to Duke University so she can study to be an Orthodontist.
If you would like to donate to help cover Evan’s growing medical bills, you can do that here.
More About:Human Interest
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