How I'm working to inspire change in cancer diagnoses

My Story: Lynn Aspey

by Lynn Aspey

April 29, 2019

12:00 AM

Photos courtesy of Lynn Aspey

Wayne, Amy, Ryan and Lynn Aspey (glasses)

A Word of Advice

Here is some advice from personal friends under initials to protect their privacy.

C.M.

“It may not be as bad as you think it’s going to be – so stay calm. Lean on your support person and know that this is equally as hard for them as it is for you. You are not alone in this journey.”

C.C.

“The unknown is frightening, however, as I learned about my disease, talked to doctors, read sources, made friends in field and met cancer survivors, my fears lessened. I am now a two-year cancer survivor and feeling positive about my future.”

D.P.

“When I got my diagnosis, my family went into action and researched everything I could do to fight through it. I changed my diet to plant-based, increased positive emotions, embraced support from friends and family, and exercised five days a week. My cancer cells are now shrinking and I’m not on any medications!”

M.Q.

“Although one person may have the cancer, the entire team is diagnosed. I chose to let go of superficial people, and I now know what I value most in life. Today is here and I will live it in my best way!”

Retirement can be seen as a beginning but also can be viewed as an ending. Either way, you look at it, for me, it was a chapter closing and a promise that another would open. I had no idea that on the very same day I’d celebrate my retirement I would also be diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic lymphoma, or SLL. June 2016, a new chapter of my life began, one I certainly didn’t ask for.

SLL cannot be removed with surgery and dictates how my body feels on a day-to-day basis. It’s a slow-progressing disease for people over 50, but that doesn’t stop the emotional and physical toll it took and takes on me.

At first, cancer is lonely. While people may expect the physical pain the disease comes with, not many people truly understand the emotionally isolating effect it has on a person. Some people lose friends, lack a support system and are treated as outcasts. I was blessed to have most of my wonderful friends stick by my side during the diagnosis and I continually socialize whenever I can. However, there were times when people treated me differently. Conversations were uncomfortable and awkward, like no one knew what to say to me. It made me feel ignored and unwanted – all I wanted was a simple, “How are you doing?” or, “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

My three closest friends said these things and more, vowing to support me through my journey. Without them and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, I wouldn’t have been able to emerge as confident and motivated as I am now.

It’s the little things that make this terrifying disease a little less scary. Inviting someone out to a movie or lunch, if they are able, makes a huge difference. For me, it makes me feel less invisible and ignored.

Another small way to make someone’s transition into their diagnosis a little easier is simply being sensitive. Surprisingly, many people gushed over how jealous they were of my weight loss, making me feel not only uncomfortable but degraded. Rather than commenting on my physical appearance, I appreciate it when friends compliment me on my high energy and good spirits even in the face of exhausting treatments.

Pre-diagnosis, I was known as the Energizer Bunny, so the decrease in energy really impacted me and my lifestyle. But once I accepted that it was okay to do less, I began enjoying life much more. I refuse to be struck down.

I hope to work toward educating the world on how to better help cancer victims fight their disease through support and inclusion. I’m working with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to do my part any way I can.

If you know someone diagnosed with an illness, offer your support and let them know you will be there. Don’t treat them like an elephant in the room – I am a person, an individual, a mother, a grandmother and a friend. Not an elephant.