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According to a story from pennlive.com, Gavin Picard was in the midst of his junior season of high school football when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of rare cancer. One day Gavin was starting to feel ill and was suffering from a sore throat. His mom noticed a swelling on his neck, and it wasn’t long after seeing a physician that he was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma.

About Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a form of blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called a lymphocyte. Around half of Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases are linked to infection by the Epstein-Barr virus. In the remaining cases a precise cause is often unknown. Symptoms of Hodgkin’s lymphoma include kidney damage, swollen lymph nodes, fever, itching, red skin patches called petechiae, bleeding, night sweats, back pain, enlarged spleen and/or liver, and pain after drinking alcohol. Treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma usually include chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In early stages, curing the disease is possible with these treatments. More advanced disease is usually treated with combination chemotherapy. A number of different chemotherapy regimens have been developed for the disease. Treatment can lead to serious long term adverse effects. Long term survival is possible for most patients; the five-year survival rate is 86 percent in the US. To learn more about Hodgkin’s lymphoma, click here.

Gavin’s Story

Gavin endured multiple rounds of intense chemotherapy in order to treat his cancer, and it was months before he was able to see much real improvement. He recently appeared on the podcast Pa. High School Football Report to talk about his experience. Gavin finished his final round of chemotherapy in March and in June he was officially given the all-clear: his lymphoma was gone.

Now that he’s recovered, he’s been focusing on building back his strength and athletic ability with a steady training routine so he’ll be ready to get back on the field for his final high school football season.

Click here to listen to the podcast episode: Avon Grove’s Gavin Picard on his battle with Hodgkin lymphoma – PA High School Football Report | Podcast on Spotify