I am a 27-year-old transgender man who won a hard-fought battle with stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma just after graduating from college. My story begins with a good friend. One night, we were hanging out around the house and they caught a glimpse of my neck under a particular light and said, “Hey, come here for a second, your neck looks pretty swollen.” We both looked in the mirror and noticed something protruding from the space where the left side of my neck met my clavicle. I called my doctor’s office and made an appointment for the next day. 

In the beginning, when I was processing my cancer diagnosis, I kept asking myself, “why me?”. That after all these years I worked hard to better my health, eating the right foods and working out. But in the world of cancer it didn’t matter, this disease couldn’t have recognize all I’ve done, and I was chosen. I am now part of their world, and how I travel through my journey will depend on me. Faith over fear.