We haven’t heard the term “LympHOMIES” and we like it. We saw it on an instagram posting from a fantastic survivor in LA named Amanda Salas who is an entertainment reporter on the local Fox station. Salas, 35, L.A. was diagnosed with lymphoma last summer and quickly became an inspiration as she underwent treatment. On Academy Awards night, Salas was back on the job. But for months to come, like many recent survivors, her immune system will remain compromised.
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Read MoreStaying Home For Health Care Workers
Bacon has been “overwhelmed by the support” his #IStayHomeFor campaign. He added a shoutout to those working on the front lines of COVID-19 battle in a follow-up
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post on Instagram: “Let’s remember and support the heroes on the front lines of this fight, our health care workers and first responders.Thank you for your tireless work. I'd also like to thank all others who are still working: food service professionals, energy and government workers … We are all so grateful,” he noted. “We see you and we thank you.”
“A Small Dose of Comfort For Somebody Else”
Salas announced her stage 2 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis in July. Since then, she's inspired friends and supporters on social media with her hashtag, @latinaonthemedicina, and her goal to "pay it forward" with her cancer journey.”
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"While I was in the hospital laying in bed," Salas explained in another Instagram post, "one form of inspiration for me was going on social media, and searching hashtags from others experiencing the same 'thing' I was. They were brave. They were beautiful. They believed. I hope to one day be that small dose of comfort for somebody else … the same way they gave me hope."
"I made a promise to God,” Salas said in an emotional on-air interview with her FOX11 LA co-anchors, “if you give me a second chance at life, I promise I will pay it forward. I will help somebody else going through this." That promise, Salas said, changed her focus during treatment. "You're not just beating [cancer] for yourself. … You're doing it for someone else and that's bigger than yourself. And that's something I never felt before."
The interview left both of her co-anchors fighting back tears.
Reporting From Home
Salas began reporting from home a week ago, as concern for the coronavirus grew. “It's the best decision while my immunity and white blood cell count continue to normalize after months of extreme chemo. At first, I didn't want to "entertain" the idea … but this is for the best,” she explained. “It's a temporary solution that is the healthiest decision. Thank you to my @foxla family for looking out for me!”
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
In the U.S., about 74,000 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are diagnosed each year, accounting for about 4.2% of cancer cases, according to the National Cancer Institute. Patients who are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have about a 72% chance of surviving for five years after the diagnosis.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is actually a collection of different lymphoma diseases, according to Dr. Catherine Diefenbach, at NYU Langone Health. "Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not one disease, it's many diseases," she says. "And there are over 68 kinds of lymphoma. For this reason, it's very important that if you have a diagnosis of lymphoma, you're treated by a lymphoma specialist."
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