Hello, my name is Sean! In July 2025, my wife Breanna was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Going back to May of 2024, Breanna began experiencing intense itching that led to bruising and sleepless nights. At first, she thought it was just from sunburn, but the itching continued to get worse and she started developing painful sores across most of her body. As the sleeplessness worsened, everything became more confusing and frightening. After several visits to urgent care and dermatologists, no one could figure out what was happening.
In June 2024, her primary care doctor diagnosed her with scabies. There was some relief in having a possible answer, and she was ready to treat it and move forward. But nothing improved.
The summer became filled with pain and uncertainty. Despite being treated for scabies, her symptoms continued during what should have been such happy times, planning a wedding, attending her bridal shower, her bachelorette trip, and even throughout the wedding. Even with happy moments, she couldn’t fully enjoy them and they were tainted with despair. Her honeymoon had to be postponed. She was placed on steroids constantly just to manage the pain, which included burning, stabbing, muscle spasms, and pins-and-needles sensations. Working became nearly impossible.
Breanna kept pushing for answers. A biopsy eventually confirmed she didn’t have scabies, but no one had any clear explanation. With no relief and little sleep, things became overwhelming. She was emotionally and physically exhausted. She began seeing multiple specialists and paying for countless appointments, but still had no diagnosis. She took it upon herself to research her symptoms, trying to understand the nerve pain, the constant itching, and the bleeding sores.
A dermatologist eventually diagnosed her with prurigo nodularis, a chronic condition that causes intense itching and sores. She began treatment with Nemluvio and started to see small improvements. She still dealt with nerve pain and requested a nerve medication from her doctor while waiting for a neurology appointment. The medication helped, and things finally began to feel more manageable. She was later diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy.
The Nemluvio was helping to make life with PN a little more manageable, but things changed again. Breanna began to feel sick in a new way. She started experiencing extreme fatigue, dizzy spells, body pain, and flu-like symptoms. Her energy dropped, and it became harder to function.
By June 2025, her health took a serious turn. Eating and breathing became difficult. Her face was swollen, and her chest and throat felt tight. After another doctor visit, a lump was found in her neck, which led to her doctor requesting a CT scan. Several masses were discovered in the scan.
After a hard weekend, she and her husband went to the emergency room, where everything escalated rapidly. A team of doctors worked to stabilize her and found a large mass in her chest pressing on her heart and several blood vessels in the area. The mass caused her pericardium to fill with roughly 1 liter of fluid. Cardiologists worked quickly to get her prepped and perform a pericardiocentesis to remove the fluid and insert a temporary drain to monitor and remove any residual fluid.
She was admitted and spent five days in the hospital to monitor her vitals and run more tests. Near the end of her stay, Breanna received her diagnosis: Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
She is now preparing for six months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat the cancer and get her immune system back on track.
At this time, Breanna is unable to work, and she and her husband are facing financial hardships.
With medical visits, treatment costs, and everyday living expenses piling up, any support would mean the world. Anything that can help cover medical bills, travel costs, medications, and more to ease the financial burden during this time would be deeply appreciated.
