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This was when we first found out I was sick.
I was 16 and diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin's lymphoma.
There was a big lump coming out of my neck.
I showed my three brothers how big it was,
and they said, "You have cancer; you're growing another head."
They felt really bad when we found out it was cancer.
It made me realize that life is precious.
I set goals and went for them.
I wanted to get married and have a family.
McKell is three, and she's very outgoing.
Evan is two, and he acts like a two-year-old.
But he's so sweet. He gives me hugs and says he loves me.
I'm grateful I had that experience at 16
because now, 12 years later, the cancer is back.
I have to go through it all again—
the shaving of the head.
I look best when I have a little bit of hair
because my head doesn't look huge.
It's huge! I have the biggest head in the world.
It's like a beautiful little melon.
The doctor diagnosed Hodgkin's lymphoma
and said it was stage four
and that it had spread throughout my body.
He said it's been growing for years.
First I was shocked. Then I was angry.
I had gone to the doctor every year.
I was mad at myself for not having a CAT scan after Evan's birth.
I was mad at the doctor for not finding it.
As I thought about it, I kept thinking that
if we had found this when it started,
when it was stage one or two,
I wouldn't have had my kids.
Chemo kills everything; it kills your blood cells.
I will be infertile, almost certainly.
So I feel that God was watching out for me in that.
He helped me have those two little kids.
That was a good fall. That was really good.
I had cancer once, and I beat it then.
Now I'm going to beat it again.
And I'm ready to fight for my life.
There are these moments when you look back
and you can see God moving in your life.
Then you realize He has a plan. He's moving things along.
It just strengthens my faith. I need God there for me.
My name is Tessa Winger.
I am a wife. I'm a mother.
I am an expert at shaving my head.
I'm a cancer fighter.
And I'm a Mormon.