7/17/18 – What can I say??? My blog “My Adventures with Mantle
Cell Lymphoma” has become a vehicle for me to report my happy milestones…. and with
this post I am more than thrilled to report that on July 17, 2018, I celebrate 10
years since I have been diagnosed with MCL... my health is looking great and even better… I feel
great.
Trust me… I make it a point the thank God for every new day I
get to spend with my loved ones. I am truly blessed.
Thinking about how far I have come… out of curiosity I decided
to search google on “survival rates for Mantle Cell Lymphoma” … I will say that
I was a bit shocked at what was returned. It said…
What is the prognosis
of mantle cell lymphoma? MCL has a poor prognosis, even with appropriate
therapy. Treatment failures usually are noted in less than 18 months, and the
median survival time of individuals with MCL is about two to five years. The
10-year survival rate is only about 5%-10%.
… A 10 year survival
rate of 5 to 10%??? YIKES!!!!!
Looking further I found that the odds are even worse for
people who have relapsed more than once…. and as a reminder of my journey... I have relapsed twice
(2013 and 2015) plus I also had a stem cell transplant in 2013.
As I ponder on what the google search returned I concluded
that this is one of two things… either I am more blessed and lucky than I had ever
thought… or that what we get back from google searches is way out of date. My
guess is that it is both. I am no expert but I have to believe that a prognosis for MCL is significantly better that what I found in google.
Know that I am not the type of person that obsesses over these
types of statistics… I am not a worrier…. I just cannot think about what may
happen in the future… I take each day as it is gifted to me and strive to make
the most of it. It is truly with my faith that I believe God delivered me and
my family from pain and suffering…and I find it a necessity that we celebrate how
good God has been to us.
As a way to celebrate this happy
milestone… my wife and my daughters will be going into New York City to have a
nice lunch at the world famous “Carmines” and then go to a matinee of a Broadway play/musical. There
is nothing I would rather do than to celebrate with my family.
God is Good, God is Great!!!!
Here is a YouTube link for a song called “Our Deliverer” by
one of my favorite bands, Third Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhqZxZTY5js
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all
my fears.
Psalm 34:4
More to come…
http://mantlecell.blogspot.com/
http://mantlecell.blogspot.com/
