My first ever "review"

Hi!

Thanks for checking this space! I'm not very good at the blogging thing, so I'll go straight to the point.

In October 2020 at 31 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer. Five months later, after surgery I was NED - No evidence of disease. Eight months after that, the cancer was found to have metastasized to my bones, thigh, lungs and abdomen.

I am a bit hesitant specifying what cancer I am battling, because the diagnosis process has been quite convoluted. The egg-sized lump in my right thigh was at first thought to be Sarcoma. Then a Neuroendocrine tumor (NET). Then a Paraganglioma, a rare form of NET. Then definitely not a Paraganglioma, but not clear of what it actually was. Then, when it metastasized, it was called a High Grade Neuroendocrine carcinoma. Now, over 15 months since it was first identified, word is that it is at best a Cancer of Unknown Primary. And the search continues. For sanity's sake, I will go with it being a High Grade Neuroendocrine carcinoma, which is the cancer for which I am currently taking treatment.

I'm one of those people who Never ever writes reviews for products - but heavily depends on other peoples' reviews of products, books, movies, to help me make a choice. 

The same thing happened when I discovered I had cancer - I scoured the blogs, the videos, the instagram blogs, the Youtube vlogs, desperate of a roadmap of some sorts as I was dragged into such unknown territory. But I was still hesitant to put my story out there - and I still am, as a very private person. 

At the same time, this experience has had so many twists and turns, and has been so full of confusion, both for doctors and for myself. If putting out my "first review" (spoiler alert, my review of cancer is 0/10 do not recommend. At all) helps at least one person feel less alone/scared/confused, then it will be worth putting this out there.