For so many years now, cancer is one of the most deadliest illnesses that simply cannot be cured. People from all over the world has suffered from this illness and despite the modern technology we are living in at the moment, researchers and scientists have been looking for a cure for so long but luck is till not on their side.
Which is why cancer has managed to impact so many people from all over the world, in fact, according to the latest statistics from NIH, there are 1,586,210 people who were diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone back 2016 and more than half of them have passed away already.
Some of the most common cancers are lung cancer, breast cancer, colon and rectum cancer, prostate cancer, and more. Cancer chooses anyone, it wouldn’t matter what your social status is, unfortunately, one of Facebook’s executives was diagnosed with cancer as well, continue reading to find out more.
Facebook Executive Reveals Incurable Illness
It was in late 2016 when Facebook Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Nicola Mendelsohn, was diagnosed with lymphoma diagnosis. On World Cancer Day, she revealed this devastating news to the public in an interview with the Sunday Times.
Mendelssohn revealed how she found a some sort of lump around her groin area and she found out that there are tumors not just in that area but throughout her entire body, when she went for a coupe of different scans and test. But a CT scan saw the tumors that she had, this is when she was diagnosed with a follicular lymphoma, which is a some kind of cancer.
She said that she literally went into a terrible shock since she does not feel sick at all. Ever since she found out about this devastating news about her health, Mendelssohn said that it definitely pushed her to live a healthier lifestyle like getting rid of sugar from her diet as well as making sure to exercise at least twice a week. What is ironic is the fact that she felt as if she is healthier, but despite the diagnosis, she hasn’t undergone any type of treatment so far.
The reason is because of the type of cancer that she has, follicular lymphoma is said to be a type if cancer that is actually slowly growing, which means that the patient can survive a longer without having to go under any type of treatment.
The Facebook Vice President said that she has decided to watch and wait on what her body will be like by simply going natural. She also said that she has been monitoring her symptoms so if ever she gets worse, she would then have to start a chemotherapy as well as an immunotherapy.
This may be a private matter, Mendelsohn believes that she would prefer to share her battle with lymphoma to the public so that she could raise awareness. Not a lot of people know this form of cancer, this is despite the fact that it is the fifth most common cancer in the United Kingdom, which is where Mendelsohn is from.
Her Influential Battle With Cancer
Mendelsohn was appointed by Facebook to be the Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa back in 2013, and with that position, she is basically the highest in command when it comes to the social network outside of the United States, which is why she could totally influence a lot of people with her battle with cancer.
Follicular lymphoma is considered to to be the most common type of slow-growing cancer and not a lot of people are aware of it and are commonly misdiagnosed which is dangerous.
She said in a statement with Sunday Times that she want to be able to influence people why sharing her story. People from the biggest business industries tend to be extremely private when it comes to these type of things, but Mendelsohn believes that’s her voice has the power to help other people by letting them know that they are not alone.
Today, on #WorldCancerDay, I'm telling my story of being diagnosed with follicular lymphoma to raise awareness and understanding of the disease https://t.co/vZvk5oIoDU
— Nicola Mendelsohn (@nicolamen) February 4, 2018
The Facebook VP also shared how difficult it was for her to tell her children about her condition. She even said that she has never imagined having to have that kind of conversation with her children and it was considered to be the hardest moment of her life, especially when her youngest son asked if she is going to die.