Living with an ever-evolving diagnosed mental health disorder from the age of 18 has been a struggle, but when I was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at 21 my whole world turned upside down.
Through my posts I hope to showcase an honest portrayal of battling cancer, share my story of stem cell transplantation and talk about other cancer-related issues such as survivor's guilt, fertility, other side effects of treatment and running a half marathon in support of research for blood cancers.
I’ll also showcase what it is like living as a family member of someone with cancer, as halfway into my 13th year of existence my sister was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and ten months later my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I was reassured that my sister would be just fine; she had one of the "good" cancers, whatever that means, and my mother would relapse from her remission when I was 16 and die shortly after my 17th birthday, just in time to see me graduate from high school.
Confronted with death at a fairly young age by one of the most important people in my life has arguably been my greatest reality check, and I would love to divulge what this experience was like for me and how I cope with mourning.
All in all, cancer is a very intimate and important part of my life for many reasons and I am honoured to share it with you.
xo
Ashlinn
