Cancer is a horrible disease, it is not a blessing and it sucks. It interrupts lives and exposes the best and the worst of the human spirit.  Cancer doesn’t make you stronger, you have to become stronger because the alternative is to give up.

After multiple scans, a series of meetings with doctors, a bronchoscopy, surgery on my left lung, and many hours in the hospital, I am sad to report the lymphoma is back. I started a new regime of chemo two weeks ago and I will undergo a bone marrow transplant by early September.

This time has been hard, disappointing and sad. I haven’t shared much on this third diagnosis because I don’t have a lot of answers and sometimes I don’t know how to share that again I am going through this (I sound like a broken record). Definitely I am not the disease and there is no way that I will let the lymphoma to take over my time, my conversations, my days, and consume my thoughts and dreams.

At this point the treatment option I have includes three rounds of the new drug Brentuximab , chemo precedes a bone marrow transplant. Since I don’t have a 100% bone marrow match I will have a haplo or “half” transplant at Johns Hopkins. The transplant procedure sounds like something taken out of a science fiction movie or a super hero comic book; in a nutshell means “resetting” and substituting my deficient immune system.

Round three of this fight is hard both mentally and physically, some days I am doing great and others not so much. I know very rough times are ahead (which I cannot control). I definitely can control how I am preparing for September to fight like crazy and win.

Thank you for your prayers, positive thoughts, and encouragement. I will keep writing on my blog and keep you posted on the transplant process.

In other news: Mexico is playing today versus Croatia at the WorldCup. Good luck to our team! Vamos Mexico!!!

Love, Bea