During the month of September, Saint Jo volleyball player Carlee Vogel would come home from practice in pain.
Her abdomen hurt, and she was having trouble figuring out why.
The first thought was Vogel suffered from a urinary tract infection, but that was found not to be the case because the pain wouldn’t go away.
Then Vogel was tested for a possible appendicitis, but that wasn’t the diagnosis either.
On Nov. 23, Carlee’s worst fears were realized when Dr. Karen Allbritton from Cook Children’s Physician Network in Fort Worth diagnosed Vogel with lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a cancer that develops in the lymph nodes and the lymphatic system.
The lymphs perform a vital job within the human body, with the primary function to produce lymphocytes.
These lymphocytes in turn help defend the body against microorganisms and harmful debris. It works hand and hand with the circulatory system and blood.
There are two types of lymphoma, both Hodgkins and non-Hodgkin types. About 90 percent is the non-Hodgkin’s type.
According to statistics from the United States National Cancer Institute, there are roughly 20 cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for every 100,000 people in the American population.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is much rarer at three percent.
When having lymphoma, medical professionals glean over the patient’s white blood cell count.
So what happens when a person has lymphoma?
Well, first the lymph nodes expand, and then there is a whole host of other symptoms that come into play: Fever, night sweats, weight loss, possible itching and fatigue.
Read more in the Dec. 17 Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Carlee Vogel has kept up with her studies throughout the process, which includes completing two college-level courses at North Central Texas College this semester. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)