Stories of hope
“I
know what I have is bad, and the treatment is bad. But I want to make it through
this.”Darcy Davidson
Darcy Davidson is not your typical “let's go out and get'em, bandana-sportin' cancer survivor,” although, as she's careful to point out, “I applaud those who are.” Instead, she's a 27-year-old self-described realist who happens to be living with a recurrence of stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma. “I know that what I have is bad, and the treatment for it is bad,” she says. “But I want to make it through this.”
Darcy knows she's in the right place. With a dedicated team of oncologists and nurses and support from an oncology social worker and full-time financial counselor, “Providence does a good job of helping, especially with making people available who can help you through the process,” she says. “Because when you're sick, it's super-overwhelming.”
Little things help, too, she says. Big windows, quiet rooms, caring nurses who listen, a young husband who remembers exactly which brand of vanilla ice cream is the best comfort food — all of these things help Darcy stay strong during her treatment. “I have cancer, but I don't want it to be what I am forever,” she says. “And I don't want to forget who I was before.”
