Battling cancer in a global pandemic
Living > Battling cancer in a global pandemic

Battling cancer in a global pandemic

A glimpse into the life of Sydney Livingston

By Haviland Stewart | April 1, 2021 5:13pm

Senior Sydney Livingston smiles for the camera. After six months of chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Livingston is in remission and ready to move into the future.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

Last summer, sitting on her porch soaking in the sun just after finishing up her remote work for the day, Sydney Livingtson’s phone rang. She sat in shock as the voice on the other end of the phone mumbled on, until she heard the words, “Stage 2 Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin's Lymphoma.” 

She hung up the phone and allowed the tears to fall, for the first and last time in months.

“I called my sister, because I don't like going and crying to my parents because I knew that they were gonna freak out and so I wanted to be stable when I told them, so I called my sister and just cried to her for a minute and she really helped me,” Livingston said. “And then I pulled it together and I think I kind of went numb for the next, long while actually.”

Livingston plays with her long blond wig. She feels most like herself with this wig because it is the closest to her natural hair color.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

During spring of 2020, Livingston was having the time of her life studying abroad in Ireland, thinking nothing of the lump she felt in her neck just before leaving. After being sent home to Santa Cruz, California due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Livingston found herself struggling to maintain her active lifestyle. She began experiencing unexplained pains when participating in everyday activities such as running and biking — ultimately leading to episodes of lightheadedness and the discovery of additional lumps in her neck.

After a few doctor appointments, an ultrasound, and referrals to specialists, Livingston was able to get a surgical extraction of one of her lymph nodes for testing.

One week later she began chemotherapy.

Livingston plays with her long blond wig. She feels most like herself with this wig because it is the closest to her natural hair color.

by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

“I tell everyone to advocate for their health, because if I hadn't asked them to send me to a specialist I don't know where I would be,” Livingston said. “Because no one thinks that a 20 year old has cancer.”

Battling cancer in the midst of a global pandemic is no small task, yet according to Livingston’s friends and family, she handled every moment with resilience and positivity.

“I was just always struck by her strength,” senior Siena Falzon said. She met Livingston two years ago and they have been close friends ever since. “You don't really get to choose the cards that you are handed, but you do get to choose how you deal with them, and Sydney chose to handle everything with such grace and strength and optimism.” 

Promptly after being diagnosed with Stage 2 Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Livingston’s family was able to rent a house in North Portland and move from Santa Cruz to create a COVID-safe and supportive living environment for Livingston. 

“If COVID wasn't a thing this diagnosis would have been easier, a lot easier,” Livingston's sister, freshman Abby Livinsgston said. “It was just so complex because of COVID. Trying to create a bubble that was safe for her was so hard.”

Sydney Livingston smiles for the camera. Livingston is glad to have her eyebrows.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

Being immunocompromised in the world of COVID-19 brought a whole new round of challenges for Livingston. However, despite the hurdles, Livingston’s friends and family members were able to find ways to adapt to their situation.

“I can't even begin to explain how amazing everyone was,” Livingston said. “Luckily [my parents] were both working remotely, but they dropped everything and drove up to Portland. I had a couple friends get tested [for COVID-19] and then come into, ‘the bubble.’ My bubble was very strong, so people could only come inside and not wear a mask if they'd gotten tested recently and quarantined. But I had the most wonderful friends who would do that for me.”

Senior Sydney Livingston smiles for the camera. After six months of chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Livingston is in remission and ready to move into the future.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

Before Livingston was diagnosed, she was finishing up a remote internship. During her 6 months of bi-weekly chemotherapy treatments, Livingston was able to keep A’s in the 3 classes that she remained enrolled in and continued fighting for fulfilling a senior year.   

“They were all classes that I was really excited about,” Livingston said. “I'm happy that I did that because it gave me a really good routine throughout the week. I think if I didn't, I would have gone insane. Halfway through I was having horrible horrible anxiety — which I'd never really struggled with before — and all of a sudden it was so all consuming and it really came from the days when I didn't have a lot of structure, because I just didn't know what to do with myself.”

Hodgkin's lymphoma — especially at Livingston's stage — is very treatable, with a 5 year survival rate of 87% , and is one of the most common and heavily researched types of cancer.

Livingston plays with her long blond wig. She feels most like herself with this wig because it is the closest to her natural hair color.

“I don't know all the nitty gritty but I just know that, that's the reason a lot of people think, ‘Oh you have cancer, you have a mass or a tumor, it looks like you should just be able to cut it out,’” Livingston said. “And yes I have masses in my lymphatic system but it's also all in my blood. And so that's why you have to do so much chemo.” 

Every other Monday for six months, Livingston went to get her next round of chemo with a brave face, fully aware of the side effects that would follow.

Sydney Livingston frames the scar from her chemotherapy port with her hands.

by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

“Eventually the smell of saline, and hospital smells start to be super triggering,” Livingston said. “And so then I would like to go home and just try to put myself to bed, because for the next like 24 hours I'd feel awful. And that was my least favorite part was, just feeling like a walking zombie — you feel bloated, you feel sick, you feel tired, you feel hungry all at the same time.” 

Even while recieving regular bi-weekly chemo treatments, Livingston pushed herself to maintain the active lifestyle she enjoyed, pushing herself to go for jogs, walks, bike rides, and do yoga when she was feeling stable. 

“I am so proud of her,” Abby Livingston said. “She was really strong through it all and never gave up, even though it was hard at times she always kept fighting -- and even beyond that, she kept working out and didn’t want to lose her strength. I really look up to her, she's really strong and she is an inspiration.”

Despite the circumstances that Livingston was facing, she was determined to continue moving forward and making the most out of every situation.

Sydney Livingston runs her fingers through her hair. After 6 months of chemotherapy, Livingston's hair is finally growing back.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon

“Sydney is a very humble person, I feel like she doesn't give herself enough credit for how amazingly she handled everything and how strong she is,” Falzon said. “We're not invincible, bad things can happen and that doesn't mean you should stop living your life and live in fear.” 

Livingston has now been in remission since January 2021 and is excited to be able to move forward from this experience. 

“While I went through this horrible awful thing, it had an end date technically, and I get to start looking forward and planning my life again, and not everyone gets that,” Livingston said. “I just think that I have had the best environment and situation and headspace even to deal with this than most other people. And so I think coming out of this, people have more respect for me and I have more respect for other people.”

While remaining hyper aware about her health, now a few months into remission, Livingston is thrilled to be feeling strong again and being able to work out and live her life as she normally would. Moving forward, Livingston said she will never take her health for granted anymore and appreciate the little things every day. 

“It was one of the hardest things I've ever done,” Livingston said. “But I learned so much, and I feel like I know who I am so much more through this. I obviously would not choose this, but I'm grateful for the experience.”

Senior Sydney Livingston smiles for the camera. After six months of chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Livingston is in remission and ready to move into the future.
by Molly Lowney / The Beacon
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