Hiii
Hope you don't think this is weird but I'd like to ask:
What do you think Komaeda's life was like between first developing symptoms of lymphoma and actually being diagnosed?
Like, what were the first symptoms? How long did the diagnosis take? And any other related information.
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No this totally isn't weird at all!! Honestly, getting symptoms towards getting people to stop going from "should we scare this kid?" to going to "let's say something" between ERs, middle and highschool and everything else I had going on was a very... Surprisingly lengthy process!
The first one I noticed (and will always notice) is nightsweats, and I think he would too simply because they're so Goddamn overstimulating. I started saying I was having drenching nightsweats that would require airing out my mattress when I was about fourteen. For a while, I was personally suspected of having a periodic fever syndrome until rheum sent me to a bunch of different people, and a dysuatonomia specialist decided hema/oncology was safest to explore when chronic fatigue swollen lymph nodes made no sense.
But Komaeda is even messier than me, so! Into the full timeline!
Migraines, dysuatonomia, nightsweats: age 14, some organic and worsening. Migraines happen because of lymph nodes up by the base of the skull pressing on nerves and causing pressure. A lot of doctors just write off "anything weird" as a migraine symptom because honestly yeah they can get really fucking weird!
From here, I think doctors would evaluate and try to find a reason, whether endocrine (hormonal) or dysautonomic (central nervous) to explain his symptoms. A lot of them are associated with young women's hormone cycles, but hormonal disorders of any sex can cause them!! When that flunked, I think the follow up would be;
Chronic fatigue syndrome and swollen nodes: age 14. Chronic fatigue syndrome can cause swollen lymph glands, and this is a path doctors prefer to explore! But when more show up and blood counts begin to suffer...
Iron deficency anemia, low ferritin, cycling hemoglobin: Yup. Everybody's favorite headcanon, Komaeda being anemic ! In oncology, lymphoma is a blood cancer, and it often causes a lot- a lot- of blood cell abnormalities. This makes people feel like shit, for one, but it is way WAY more concerning than somebody without these symptoms showing up with anemia.
From here, nosebleeds, hemocrit, abnormal bleeding, strange bruising, worsened fainting, etc. etc.- it all would begin to likely snowball if we know Komaeda is diagnosed by around age 16. Lymphoma can affect young people of young teenagehood to young twenties pretty commonly, although most people don't expect that. Some other specifics:
Prurutis: a burning, "itch under skin" pain that affects lower legs in lymphoma
Dysuatonomic attacks: histamine abnormalities, sudden urticaria (hives), fainting and tachycardia
Chronic pain, especially with treatment, although spinal pain is surprisingly common
These are some of my expectations for his advancement! Not a strange question at all <3 I hope I answered well!
