My name is Sean Callagy and in July 2013 I was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma.
I published this bare-bones website to operate as a beacon for others who, along with their friends and family, are living with Follicular Lymphoma – an indolent, non-Hodgkin cancer of the lymphatic system.
“Beacon” is described in the Oxford Dictionary as “a fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal, or celebration“. So this site is merely a signpost indicating one possible route to a destination.
“One possible route”… because there is every likelihood there are other paths that will get you there too. “A destination“… because I honestly cannot see far enough ahead to tell you where exactly it is I’m going. Which of course also means that I can’t possibly know when I’ve arrived (so don’t expect me to tell you!). But what I am telling you… by lighting this website as a beacon… is that I’ve travelled a few paths in life that I would like to warn you about (in time I may caution about some of the holistic / natural approaches I followed in my life that may have contributed to the gene expression that drove the development of Follicular Lymphoma)… and that I am now celebrating every step of this new path I am following!
Which means that in many ways I’ve already arrived at my destination: Life
Why “Lymphing Along”? Why not a more positive name?
Two reasons.
1, the expression means something to me because it was born out of – and marked – a very significant moment during my chemo.
If memory serves… (and it mightn’t thanks to the brain-fog phenomenon dubbed “chemo-brain”)… as I zimmered in to the ward for the start of my second R-CHOP session, a nurse asked me how I was getting on. Just beginning to re-master the art of walking, and just beginning to sense another chance at life (even if it that was to be in this strange, new, weak and frail body), my reply was a happy quip: “Oh, lymphing along quite nicely now thank you!”.
There were smiles and guffaws all-round. Merriment which was further compounded by a friend remarking that while the chemo seemed to be helping me with the cancer, it didn’t seem to be doing much for my sense of humour!
That moment of lightness in an otherwise dreadfully dark time was significant for me. As was the slowly forming notion that, if I survived any length of time, and I could do it without costing myself much energy, I would share my story publicly. In the hope that that sharing might at once help others diagnosed while also helping others avoid the choices that (i believe) led me down the path to cancer.
2. For that sharing, an easily remembered domain name was going to be handy!
(Dec 6th, 2016: don’t let my 1.5 year silence on this, or my personal site worry you. Since chemo ended my blood inflammation markers have remained consistently low. The few remaining enlarged nodes either continue to remain small or are trending downwards in both hardness and size. Along with those positives not only have I grown well enough to dabble again in swim teaching and website hosting work, but I’m also enjoying making music with choirs and/or friends, and walk for at least 30-mins twice daily (assuming I’ve not also cycled a whopping 80-100k that day with local club the Innisfree Wheelers!).
