This article was produced by the editors of Healthing with support from a grant from Wellspring Cancer Support. While Wellspring facilitated the production of this article, they had no editorial influence or control over its content, including review prior to publication.
At 3 a.m., Matt Van Engelen was sitting on the couch with his wife Sydney and had severe back pain. She insisted he go to the emergency room to get it checked out. He did, but he certainly wasn’t prepared for what came next.
He had cancer.
“I was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It was only discovered because I had an X-ray done in the hospital for back pain. It was actually a pinched nerve, but that’s where the lymphoma showed up too,” he says of the imaging results.
This was in 2022, when his life in Toronto was hectic at home and at work. His son Davey was just a toddler, and Matt, now 42, had a demanding role as a Google administrator supporting the finance and creative teams at an online investment service. He was concerned about managing the cancer treatment, on top of everything else.
Unexpected diagnosis: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is an aggressive, fast-growing blood cancer that affects your lymphatic system, the network of organs, tissues, and lymphatic vessels that helps fight infection. The disease compromises immunity and can cause weight loss, night sweats and fever.
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