Chris’s Story: Five Years Later, Still Watching the Sunrise

In September 2020, I was 46, with 13-year-old twin girls, when a surgeon told me the “hernia” I was about to have fixed was mantle cell lymphoma. I looked up survival rates that night and wanted to throw up.

Here’s what happened after that:

• I did seven months of watch and wait.
• I did six rounds of chemo: three of bendamustine and rituximab, then three in-patient rounds of cytarabine and rituximab.
• I got a complete response.
• I made the hard call, with my doctor, to skip the stem cell transplant.
• I went on rituximab maintenance.

That was five years ago. I’m still in remission.

A lot has changed since then. My girls are 19 now and thriving in college. Becky stuck with me through all of it. We met on a dating app shortly after my first round of chemo, and I told her about the cancer on our second date. We sold our houses, moved in together, and we’re getting married.

This September, the two of us finished the Camino de Santiago, a hike we did with my mom and dad. I still watch the sunrise when I’m up early. Back then, I was up because the fear of what came next wouldn’t let me sleep. Now I’m just up.

When I was diagnosed, my mom joined an online MCL community. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t ready to read the posts myself back then. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t take in anyone else’s story yet, even the hopeful ones. So she read the posts for me and passed along what she learned. If you’re the person reading for someone else, thank you. It matters more than you know.

I wrote a book about that year. It covers the scans, the waiting, the transplant decision, telling my kids, dating during chemo, and a dear friend I lost along the way. It’s written for people with MCL and other non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and for the people who love them. It’s not a medical guide, just one guy’s honest account, including the parts that were funny.

It comes in two versions, both on Amazon in paperback and Kindle:

• F*ck! I’ve Got Cancer is the original, uncensored version, for those who think the title says it all; and
• Oh Geez! I’ve Got Cancer is the PG version for those who wouldn’t be caught dead in public with the original.

If ordering from Amazon is a hurdle for you, whether it’s the technology, the cost, or anything else, let me know through the contact page on my website, chrishughescancerstory.com. I’ll get you a copy for free, no questions asked.

If you’re newly diagnosed, waiting on a scan, or caring for someone who is, I wrote it for you. Here’s where to find it.

Editor’s note: The book links are happily shared at the author’s request. MCLA does not receive proceeds from book sales.