It all started in October 2018 during a trip to Mexico. I consumed a fruit that caused me to become ill. Upon my return to the U.S., my doctor referred me to a gastroenterologist, who performed a colonoscopy. Everything looked fine, except for minor inflammation on my intestinal walls, but my doctor decided to do a biopsy.

Results from the biopsy later told the larger story. I was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form...