Fighting Internet Trolls
- The wife of University of Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats recently got attacked for her appearance by an internet troll and she answered the person in the best way possible.
- Crystal Oats, a lymphoma survivor, battled the disease in 2015 and is luckily on the other end of it, and will be supporting her husband and his team this weekend when Alabama plays Iona in Indianapolis.
- There are over 70 types of lymphomas, but the disease is mainly divided between Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin. Non-Hodgkin is the most common, but Hodgkin is the most curable. Most lymphomas form from two of the major types of white blood cells, or lymphocytes: B cells and T cells.
Nate had recently posted about a meal that he had that wasn’t great, and a Twitter user replied attacking his wife.
Read MoreDear Troll. That pic was taken the day before I went in for my first round of chemo. My neck was swollen because I had large tumors pressing on my airway. It was a death sentence! I entered the biggest fight of my life and came out a winner beating cancer! https://t.co/WTCDwclKnt
Crystal Oats (@cmoats74) March 15, 2021
The supportive tweets started pouring in after Crystal’s response.
“Brilliant and patient reply to someone who deserves much, much less!,” one follower wrote.
“I reported the tweet and I dragged this person and I dare them to say something back to me because I’m in the mood to kick some more LSU butt today,” said another.
And then, one of the sweetest responses to the debacle: “I personally think you have always looked beautiful. It is obvious that your husband thinks you are too and loves you dearly.”
The couple, who have three daughters Lexie, Jocie and Brielle, publicly adore each other frequently. Crystal is also a huge supporter of Nate’s team, which he started coaching in 2019 after leaving Buffalo.
Alabama is a second seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which begins Thursday. The team plays Iona on Saturday in Indianapolis.
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Nate announced his wife’s battle with an aggressive type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a cancer that starts in white blood cells) in late 2015 on Facebook.
“Crystal is the strongest woman I know. She's been there with me every step of the way on my adult journey through life,” he wrote. “This Dec. 20 we will have been married 18 years, and I can honestly say I know she's exactly what I've needed for a wife. She's everything to me and we will fight this battle together. This type of lymphoma is an aggressive type and requires an extremely strong regimen of chemotherapy over the next 5-6 months. Life just got real for us in a way I never could have imagined.”
Luckily, the five-year survivor was given good news later that year in August. “Got Crystal’s test results back,” Nate shared. “Everything came back cancer free. Will now test every 3 mos for next 2 yrs. Thanks for everyone’s prayers.”
What is Lymphoma?
There are more than 70 types of lymphomas but they are divided into two groups. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, like Crystal had, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin is the most common, but Hodgkin is the most curable. Most lymphomas form from two of the major types of white blood cells called lymphocytes: B cells and T cells. The cancerous cells mainly travel to the lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, blood or other organs. Like most cancers, the treatment depends on the type of lymphoma and the stage or grade.
Related: Could Your Lymphoma Come Back? What Happens When You Relapse
Dr. Lawrence Piro, medical oncologist and president and CEO of the Angeles Clinic & Research Institute, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, tells SurvivorNet about low-grade and high-grade lymphomas.
“In the low-grade lymphomas, the feature of that lymphoma is that it grows very slowly,” he says. “And it isn’t likely to change dramatically. So those are not situations where you would expect to wake up one morning, and, suddenly, the disease has changed dramatically and is now really troubling you.”
Related: All about Biopsies for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Dr. Piro says you will have frequent visits with your doctor, where your lymph nodes will be examined and your weight will be monitored. “The key is that you want to manage survival in low-grade lymphomas. We’re not really looking for a remission,” he says. Low-grade can eventually form into a higher-grade lymphoma.
"You may get an initial therapy that may work for many years," he says of high-grade lymphoma. "You may go into remission but then have a relapse years later. So then you start on another therapy." The idea is to create a therapeutic plan that extends survival for as long as possible. "Often even high-grade lymphoma is curable,” he adds.
The Grades of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Support During Lymphoma
Survivor Lexi Ribstein had been dating her boyfriend for only eight months when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. "Honestly, it was the most numbing feeling. Nobody ever expects to be told they have cancer, I certainly didn't," Ribstein said. "I was in shock for so long because everything changed so fast."
Ribstein told boyfriend Riley Holzer the news via text because she had to stay in the hospital overnight for a biopsy. "I can't imagine being in his shoes receiving that text," she said. "Within the hour he was in the hospital standing right next to me."
"During his hockey games, you'd see him wiping tears through his helmet, and he's not a crier," Ribstein said. "He avoided meals for the first few days. He was at her house or the hospital with her every day. "He listened when I was angry or sad. He saw a lot of ugly sides of me, and still made the decision to stick with me," she said. "He is my best friend and I couldn't imagine going through that alone without him."
Ribstein has now been in remission since July 2020. She posted a video on TikTok dedicated to Holzer about how his support helped her get through her cancer journey that has gotten millions of views. "We went through the worst part of my life attached to each other, and I genuinely can't imagine him just not being in my life."
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