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Stem Cell Treatment

Late in 2015 I noticed that I had a lump on my neck on the right side- it did not hurt it was just a lump on my neck . I was walking with my better half Cindy Dilaura at Va Oncology talking to Dr. Boon Kok about her mother when we asked  her about the lump on my neck. She looked at it and told me to  get a surgeon to do a biopsy in order to find out what it was. I had been seeing a doctor at Ghent Family Practice and they were baffled- I had Night sweats where I soaked t-shirts and the sheets as well as the pillowslips. They thought it was Sarcoidosis. I schelduled a biopsy with Dr. Burgess at Sentara Norfolk. I had no idea what was in store for me in the future!
In February of 2016, I had a lymp node removed from my neck. Pathology said it was Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma. I saw Dr. Kok at Va Oncology and she had me start Chemo-ABVD drugs.
In March of 2016, I started having ABVD Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinbladtine and Dacarbazine, Chemo treatments every two weeks. This did not help my work. I was out of work at least three days every week. Therefore, my paychecks were not very good!
On my second treatment of Chemo, I noticed a weird feeling in my throat. It felt like I had water sitting there. I told my Oncology nurse and they thought it was just a side effect from Chemo. By the fourth treatment, I was having difficulty breathing. They sent me to ER- they admitted me to the hospital because my oxygen was in the low 80's. It turned out that I had Bleomycin Toxicity from the B drug in ABVD Chemo. The B stands for Bleomycin. I was in the hospital for three days. They performed a Bronchoscopy on me while I was in the hospital- that really hurt, when they released me to go home, I was full-blown diabetic due to 50 mg of Prednisone daily that they precribed to lower the inflammation in my lungs. I was on a respirator units and hand held Albuterol pumps. I also had several PFT- Pulmonary Function Test to see how my lungs were doing. I could not even walk from the living room to the bathroom without being out of breathe! I missed weeks of work due to this. This left me with Pulmonary Fibrosis. I had 11 ABVD treatments and as of September 2016 after a PET scan, I was in Remission!
Pulmonary doctors wanted me to start a drug called Esbriet to stop or hinder the fibrosis from growing-I took it for three days and on the fouth day I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and I had a face full of peeling skin. This was diagnosed as PRP- Pityriasis Rubra Pilars. It soon covered my entire body with reddish hue that had blisters like the measles. That soon turned into scaling peeling itchy skin. This kept me out of work for weeks at a time.
I went in for my three-month follow up for a CAT scan- It showed that the Hodgkins Lymphoma had indeed returned. Va Oncology wanted me to start a regimen of ICE- (I) fosfamide, (C) carboplatin and (E) etoposide. I have done four treatments of these of these drugs and now I am going for Stem Cell treatment in San Antonio, Texas.
This I.C.E. treatment has made me miss at least two days a week from work due to the after effects. I have not had a full week's paycheck in over two years! On December 11th, I have to go to The Cancer Transplant Institute in San Antonio, Texas to see if I can do Stem Cell treatment. Please pray for me and my family and help support my 4 to 6 month journey to cancer be free! May God Bless Everyone !!!
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  • Anonymous
    • $100 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Cindy Hanson-Dilaura
Organizer
Norfolk, VA

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