Updated February 19th, 2021

How a Tough Childhood Helped One Young Man Face His Greatest Obstacle: Late-Stage Lymphoma

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Facing Lymphoma with Gratitude

Best-selling author Alex Echols credits his sense of gratitude with helping him get through his late-stage lymphoma diagnosis and treatment.
Echols spent three weeks in the hospital after treatment with a stem cell transplant.
Now a cancer survivor, he’s a successful leadership trainer and author.

Growing up in a violence-ridden neighborhood might not seem like a blessing, but the struggles of his early years instilled in Alex Echols the resilience he would need to face an even bigger challenge many years later: cancer.

"I remember the doctor called me and my father back into the room and said, 'You have late-stage lymphoma.' That's when I realized, ok, I need to take this seriously," Echols tells SurvivorNet.

Related: The Stages of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: How Your Stage Affects Your Outlook

Escaping his difficult surroundings also left Echols with a profound sense of gratitude, which helped him get through the darkest days of his cancer. "Even during some of the most challenging days and nights, when I didn't have any energy, I looked for things to be grateful for," he says. "I've always felt like I've been an optimist my entire life, and I've always seen things as the glass half full."

First Breath of Fresh Air

Echols was treated with a bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant. First, he received very high doses of chemotherapy to kill off the cancer cells that had infiltrated his blood and bone marrow. That was followed by an infusion of new stem cells the fledgling cells that would eventually grow into new, healthy blood cells.

A stem cell transplant can cure lymphoma, but it isn't an easy treatment. The huge doses of chemotherapy needed to wipe out the cancer can lead to some pretty intense side effects, including nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and hair loss. Without their usual army of white blood cells, people who've undergone a stem cell transplant can be easily sickened by a viral or bacterial infection that would have been no match for a fully functioning immune system. That’s why they must stay in the hospital after the procedure, sometimes for a few weeks.

Dr. Caitlin Costello, medical oncologist at UC San Diego Health, runs through the possible risks of a stem cell transplant

Echols spent three weeks in the hospital following his transplant, rebuilding his immune system. On the drive home, he rolled down the windows and breathed in the first fresh air he’d inhaled in three weeks. “Everything just looked clear,” he recalls. “The sun was shining much brighter. The colors were much clearer and much more vibrant. And that, I believe, is because not only did I know that I survived, but because I brought gratitude to everything.”

Life Reimagined

“At the end of the day, I just did not want to leave this world too soon,” Echols says.

He not only survived his cancer, but thrived. Today, Echols is an emotional intelligence leadership-based trainer, and the bestselling co-author of The Two-Week Notice: How to Discover Your Passion, Quit Your Job + Impact Our World. “Honestly, I've just gotten back into such a rich and beautiful life for myself,” he says.

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A post shared by Alex Echols (@heyalexechols)

His experience has left him wiser, and he’s generous in offering advice to others who may be struggling with challenges ahead. “Put one foot in front of the other. Stay focused. Love yourself. Accept, as much as you can, those around you, for they are doing their best,” he says. “I know you will get through this.”

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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