Mother Remembers Hodgkin’s Disease
Early Stage Cancer Allows for Successful Treatment  

Tracie Anderson was studying for mid-term exams at Texas Tech University when she noticed a lump at the base of her neck.

“I was at my desk in my dorm room, stretching, and I put my hand near my collarbone and felt a knot,” says Anderson, who was 19 at the time. “I thought, ‘That’s odd. That wasn’t there before.'”

Within a few weeks she was diagnosed with early Hodgkin’s disease (Stage 2A). The knot, a cancerous tumor, was removed, and she began several months of radiation at M. D. Anderson. Following treatment, there were no signs of cancer, and she has remained cancer-free. Today, the 34-year-old wife and mother of two shares her story to give hope to other Hodgkin’s disease patients.

There is already much to be hopeful about, cancer experts say. Hodgkin’s disease, a rare cancer of the lymphatic system, is treated successfully in a majority of patients, especially those diagnosed with early stage disease. Anderson is among the 76% of Hodgkin’s disease patients who, the American Cancer Society says, remain cancer-free after 10 years. 

Teenager’s invincibility challenged

The most commonly diagnosed group of Hodgkin’s disease patients is adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 34. (The next most commonly affected group is adults, 55 and older.)

Teenagers often think they are exempt from serious illness, Anderson says, and she was no different.

As a college freshman, she was not too concerned after finding the lump in her neck. Anderson went on to take her mid-term exams and at spring break returned home to Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb. Toward the end of her visit, she mentioned her discovery to her parents, and they insisted she see a doctor.

Her doctor told her the lump was probably a calcium deposit and she was given medication to dissolve it. X-ray and blood test results were pending. In the meantime, she was given permission to return to school. But at the airport, she was stopped at the gate. Her parents had called the gate attendant requesting that their daughter not be allowed to board the plane. Instead, she was to call home.

College student focuses on treatment

“Our neighbor answered the phone,” Anderson says. “She told me the doctor said my condition was more serious than he originally thought, and that she would pick me up at the airport and take me to my parents who were already at the doctor’s office. I was obviously terrified. When I arrived at the doctor’s office, I was told it was most likely a malignant tumor. X-rays showed an initial mass and a small bit of tissue that was also affected.”

The next day, Anderson underwent a biopsy, in which the lump was removed and the  malignancy confirmed. Fortunately, subsequent tests showed that the cancer had not spread. Since the tumor had been removed and the rest of the cancer was localized, it was determined that only radiation was needed to kill whatever disease remained.

Radiation was performed in the area where the tumor had been, and, as a precaution, also in the pelvic and abdominal area, Anderson says.

Radiation oncologists shielded her pelvis as much as possible, but they told her they could not guarantee they would be able to completely protect her reproductive system. Luckily, she was not affected, and years later she and her husband, Ronnie, were able to conceive two sons, Reid, now 6, and Sam, 21 months on Dec. 15. 

Side effects are minor setbacks

Immediate side effects of her treatment included fatigue, minor skin irritation, minor hair loss and nausea when the radiation treatment included her abdominal area. “I wasn’t able to keep food down,” she recalls. “It wore me out, and I became weak.”  

Long-term side effects have included a thyroid imbalance that requires daily medication, and the inability to breastfeed due to radiation of her milk ducts, but she can live with that.

“For me to have come out of this with basically no side effects other than the thyroid and breastfeeding problem is such a blessing,” Anderson says. “In looking back, I’m actually able to be grateful for my cancer experience. I don’t think I would be the person I am today without having gone through that because I realize how precious each day is and I am so grateful for my health.”