Read the Message Friends Left for Cancer Survivor: 'Dark Humor'

After being diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma and enduring six rounds of chemotherapy, a woman has praised the unusual way her friends managed to keep her laughing throughout.

The 24-year-old posted on Reddit as u/NataschaTata, sharing a picture of an impeccably decorated cake with green icing piped along the bottom and a chocolate ganache dripped over the top that her friends gave her to celebrate her release from the hospital.

However, it was the choice of decorations on top of the cake that was most striking. A green ribbon made out of fondant icing lay beside four macarons in an identical color. But written on one of the macarons were the words: "Good job not dying."

After sharing the post on April 24, Natascha revealed to Newsweek how it was this type of "dark humor" with her close friends that kept her laughing and smiling after her life had been "ripped apart."

Unlike most cancer forms, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is highly prevalent among those aged between 15 and 39 years old, as well as those aged over 75, according to the CDC.

This particular type of cancer is also more common in men than women, as in 2019 it affected 22 men in every 100,000, compared to 15 women affected in every 100,000.

Symptoms of both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma include swollen lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, fatigue, and weight loss.

Natascha explained that she was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2022, after suffering for two weeks with symptoms of pneumonia.

"I had a honeydew melon-sized tumor in my upper chest, which had spread to multiple other organs," she told Newsweek. "Due to being diagnosed very late, because of a lack of symptoms, my body was failing rapidly, and my doctors weren't too hopeful that I'd make it.

"While undergoing treatment for cancer, as well as trying to treat my lung and heart failure, something that kept me going was the dark humor that my friends and I share. Often, I'd be on the phone with them while I was in hospital receiving chemo, and we'd just joke about the situation, the future, and how crazy it all was."

It was a grueling four months of treatment that Natascha went through, and as the hospital was a distance away from her friends, she wasn't able to see them in person the whole time.

As soon as she was released from the hospital in April, the first visit she made was to her friends, and they surprised her with the cake.

Natascha continued: "Exactly four months after I was taken to the hospital, I left the hospital having overcome six rounds of chemotherapy and starting my life in remission.

"My first trip just days later was to visit my friends. They got me the cake to celebrate what I've overcome at such a young age. I didn't let my diagnosis push me down, I kept myself upright, smiled through it, and used a lot of dark humor to get over it all.

"I never gave up or doubted that I wouldn't make it. Their support during all of it was one of the most important things during that time."

The Reddit post has since been removed by moderators, but the image of the cake is still available. Nonetheless, it has generated over 11,800 votes and more than 200 comments.

One person commented on the post: "Congratulations, and also you have some very cool people around you with a very twisted sense of humor, which I absolutely appreciate."

Another person praised the cake, as they wrote: "Good to find humor in a tight spot. Good health to you, life is fun."

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