Update 050622:
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Tomorrow is going to be the day: "I'm coming up so you better get this party started"...:-)
("Get the party started", copyright by Pink)

Third round in the old-man-simulator...this time, for allogeneic transplant. I try to take it with humor...

Update 050617:
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The MDs found a matching cord blood. The health checks were all quite OK, and so the date for transplant has been shifted one month from end of July to end of June. I will go to sterile room sometimes next week (20.06. - 26.06).

Update 050531:
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There is no matching unrelated adult donor for me. The MDs have started a search for matching cordblood.

Update 050416:
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I am back home again - my Leuko-count went up to 12.000 on 16th of April, and Ery- and Thrombo-counts also were going up.

I am incredibly weak - walking up stairs is a huge problem - I have to walk up very slow.
But of course I am very happy to be back home again.

Update 050329:
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High dose chemo inside sterile room will start on 050330, i.e. tomorrow. I do not know if I have an Internet connection in there, so it could well be I will not be able to post new photos for 4 weeks or so.

Update 050314:
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The bone marrow of my brother does not match. The MDs will initiate worldwide search for a matching donor on Friday.

Update 050301:
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Have been in private ordination of a well-known cancer specialist. The therapy he sketched for me far surpassed my worst apprehensions:

1. Three more cycles of Gemzar to stabilize the cancer, which is already feeling very lively again.
2. High dose chemo plus *autologous* bone stem cell transplant afterwards (I still have stem cells left from 2002), within sterile room, in order to minimize tumour masses.
3. After some weeks pause: (not so extremly) high dose chemo plus *allogenic* bone stem cell transplant afterwards. Again in sterile room, but this time my stay will be much longer, as it is not my own stem cells.

As a matter of fact, I would receive a new immuno-system. There is a good chance this new immuno system will start to fight the remaining cancer cells.

Well. Next step: check my HLA phenotype.

I have one brother, and the MD told me there is a chance of 30% that my brother's bone marrow will fit. We will both have our blood checked within the next days, and it will take ~ 10 days to know if he is a match.

If not, it will take aproximately 3-4 months to find a matching bone stem cell donor. My chances are again 30%.

So there is a 40% chance that there might be no matching donor, he explained.

If you, the reader, happen to read this lines:

I will keep you informed if my brother's bone marrow is a match and also concerning my HLA-phenotype (results should be here within 10 days).

Who knows, maybe somebody reads this who is a matching bone stem cell donor.
It takes only 20 ml of blood to have this checked.

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I was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer (Morbus Hodgkin) in 2002. Chemo did not really work and the treatment still continues today. Till now, I have received 19 cycles of chemotherapy.

For all who have been recently diagnosed and would like to know what is expecting them, and for all familiar sufferers, I have posted my cancer photo diary.

Some facts:
1. Normally, Morbus Hodgkin can be handled very well by Chemo. Your chance for remission is approximately 96%
2. Yes, it's possible to survive Chemo. It's not a nice time, but it's more or less OK. Make sure to drink as much (Water!) as you can. The more you drink, the better for your kidneys. Also, the more you drink, the less sick you will be.
3. Don't let the MDs (and the Chemo) ruin the veins of your arms: have them implant you a Port-A-Cath (central venous catheder).
It will save your veins; I received my Port only after 6 cycles in March 2003, and the veins in my arms are still kaputt.
4. You will receive lots of Cortisone. This steroid could be called the "eunuch-hormone", when considering the side effects it has: it makes eunuchs from men (OK, it will not touch your libido. Or, to be more exact: it didn't touch mine, but I haven't exactly discussed this topic with other M.H. patients. So your mileage may vary) - you will add a lot of fat, muscle mass will shrink, bone-density will decrease. Result: fat body and face and neck, but thin, flabby arms and legs.

One more thing: Cortisone is said to make people agressive and cause terrible mood swings.
To this I would like to say: it will only enhance an agression that already is inside one.

I never ever was agressive when receiving cortisone - I had my Cortisone-highs when receiving it (the side effects start around day 3 usually) and I always had terrible withdrawal symptoms when it was discontinued, but no increased levels of agression. But then, I am not a very agressive man.

Anyway.

If it turns out BEACOPP (the golden standard of Morbus Hodgkin treatment) doesn't work with you, either refuse Cortisone at all (it then most probably will not help at all against the tumor).

Or if you are male, discuss with your MDs if it would be possible to have a mild anabol steroid, like Primobolan, instead of Cortisone. In principle, it will have the same anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic features and will let you keep your muscle mass and bone-strength.

If you are a woman, well I don't know what to do. Sorry...

Anyway, I am not a MD at all, so it's just what I would do. So your mileage may vary...

In any way, that's what I learned during the last 30 months: for Morbus Hodgkin, it's really best not to have it, or if you have it, it's good if BEACOPP works, and if it doesn't work, be prepared for lengthy chemo and get rid of Cortison and have a Port-A-Cath implanted.

The image-names mean the dates when they were taken, like this:
YYMMDD, so
021024 = 24th October 2002
040305 = 5th March 2004