Lynn Tidlund Weeden was going about her normal life, running her home daycare business in Massachusetts and spending time with family when she noticed slight changes in her health.
She said she went to a local hospital for a check-up because she had night sweats, stomach pains and was not feeling herself. TikTok.
After visits and tests by doctors, Ms. Weeden was immediately devastated and shocked when she was diagnosed with late-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2022, but she soon won’t be alone in her battle.
Four months later, her husband Bill received the same devastating news when he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
The couple, who married in October 2022 after 11 years, battled through chemotherapy sessions, bone marrow transplants and experimental immunosuppressants, all while supporting each other.
Lynn and Bill at their wedding in October 2022. The couple has been together for 11 years.
When Lin initially went to her local hospital, doctors did a CAT scan and the medical imaging revealed a large tumor on her spleen.
They immediately took her to a major hospital for care.
After a week of testing, the mother of three was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is a common form of the disease, with more than 81,000 Americans diagnosed each year. It affects areas of the body where lymph tissue is found – such as the chin, armpits and groin.
When caught and treated early, people with NHL are 73 percent less likely to live for the next five years than healthy people. According to the American Cancer Society.
But if the cancer is more advanced, as in Lin’s case, the survival rate drops to 58 percent.
Lin immediately began treatment, which included six months of chemotherapy.
But in June 2022, doctors confirmed that chemo was not working with her disease.
A scan revealed that Lynn’s spleen was eight times larger than it should be. A normal spleen weighs about 6oz but Lin’s was three pounds. So her doctors said she should have it removed surgically.
The spleen helps fight infection by filtering toxins from your blood, Dr. Elise Merchant and Dr. Wendy Stead. He wrote for Harvard Health.
It is possible to live without a spleen because other organs of the body, such as your kidneys and liver, perform the same functions.
But other people may be more vulnerable to serious complications from infections they can easily fight, like pneumonia, Dr. Merchant and Stead wrote.
The doctors told Lin’s family that she would undergo a six-hour operation. But eight hours after they opened Lynn up, they discovered that the fatty tumor had wrapped around her diaphragm, so they had to bring in a specialist surgeon to reconstruct the area.
‘I came out of surgery in severe pain. I had chest tubes. It was horrible, it was horrible,’ she said.
Things were clear for a few weeks after this. But in late July, Bill started throwing up blood, Lynn said.
Lynn and Bill were diagnosed with cancer four months apart
Reminiscent of Lynn’s cancer journey, the construction worker went to the hospital and after a series of tests was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Lin did not say what form or stage the disease was diagnosed at.
Bill was transferred from his local hospital to Boston’s Dana Farber Cancer Center and underwent ‘intensive’ chemotherapy while immediately searching for a bone marrow donor.
While Bill’s exact diagnosis is unclear, overall, adults who get adequate treatment for their leukemia have a 65 percent chance of living healthy for the next five years.
Every year approximately 62,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia, and 23,600 people die from this disease. According to ACS.
Besides chemotherapy, one of the most effective treatments for leukemia is a bone marrow transplant. For months, Bill seems to stay between them 7,500 Americans Waiting for a donor match.
But before Christmas he found someone willing to donate to him and the transplant took place in January.
Since then, Bill has continued chemotherapy treatments and had to travel back and forth to Boston almost every day for months. As a result, he was fired from the construction job, which caused the couple to lose insurance coverage.
Lynn and Bill stopped working in the years after their initial diagnosis—leaving them hundreds of thousands in medical bills, Lynn said. Shared in GoFund Me..
They fear they won’t be able to pay the bills and may lose their home because of it.
But despite this problem, Lin continues to fight together: ‘This is the beginning of our journey; We are still fighting.
We are struggling, none of us work and it has been very, very hard on us. We are afraid of losing our home that we have worked for all our lives. I never want to ask people for help.’
Their treatment is still ongoing.
Ms. Weiden said a cancer treatment called CAR-T therapy, which uses the body’s immune system as a tool to attack cancer, is currently being tested.
Bill is still undergoing treatment.
They agree with each other in all this. But on TikTok, Lin shared that the couple’s journey has not been easy.
Being our support system for each other, it was hard for days because we were so upset with each other, but we hung in there.
However, due to the stress of their debilitating illness and financial problems, they find comfort in each other and in their faith.
‘There is a God,’ added Lin. Keep your strength to keep your faith. He is with you.’