Emme: "I'm a Size 12, So What?"

Her Battle with Cancer

Emme: I found out in May 2007, after several years of having symptoms. For instance, I was coughing a lot, and I wasn't able to sleep on my back without feeling as if I was going to suffocate. I went from being able to complete a 100-mile bike tour in two days with no problem to suddenly feeling like I was going to die halfway through a Spin class. It didn't make any sense to me. Then the doctors told me that I had Stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma. It turned out I had a tumor the size of a banana growing on the lymph nodes in my chest. I started treatment as soon as I found out. Chemo ended in October.

Emme: When I was battling Hodgkin's, I was eating ravenously and still dropping weight because of the sickness. Altogether I lost about 30 pounds, and I got my weight to a place it hadn't been since my modeling heyday: 192 pounds. For me, that's quite trim -- I'm 5'11". But there is no satisfaction in losing weight because of cancer. When I finished chemo, I had to deal with the realities of my life, including the fact that I was going through a divorce while raising my daughter. So although physically I am feeling better, emotionally things are a little stressful right now, and I've been eating more chocolate than usual. Recently I realized that I've gained 10 pounds since I was sick, which means that I am getting healthier, but it also means that I've been eating a little too much chocolate!