Good news

 Good news

Let's start from the end. The point you see at the end of the arrow, you don't see. Or in a free translation from Hungarian. What you see above is an exposure of my waist in a PetCT imaging from two months ago, a cross-sectional image. In the middle below, a white vertebra from the spine, and two gray circles from the sides, the kidneys. The white dot at the end of the arrow, a little more than a centimeter in size, is what is left of the cancer after 2 months of the genetically modified engineered bitten it. In a similar imaging from this morning, 4 months later, the dot has faded. In addition, no new similar points were found

 

It is a well-known wisdom in football that when I go to see a game of the Israeli national team, (or even Maccabi Haifa) we sing the national anthem and in the end we lose. To win I must not watch the game. Watching TV is also harmful. And if we reach a tie at the end. I'm not allowed to see the penalties. So there are players and a coach, but what determines the outcome is the karma. Similarly, in all past PetCT tests, I went optimistic and came back less optimistic. A successful combination of denial and suppression. At the last check-up I already arrived worried and left encouraged. So there are doctors and nurses and medicines but what valid is the superstition

 

About a year ago, cancerous growths, the size of a hard-boiled egg, were seen in PetCT. Doctor Sofer was not alarmed and said that I received the common variant and the chances of recovery are high. I translated it to 90% or 95%. After 3 one-day chemo treatments, all the tumors were treated except for a 2 centimeter tumor. So I asked and it turned out that the high chances of recovery is 80%. I continued for 3 more treatments and the lump only grew. That is, I fell by the remaining 20%. Doctor Sofer responded with two more aggressive chemo treatments, of 3 days each, with stronger substances. The lump disappeared but a smaller sphere on the side, which was not addressed, grew and flourished to a similar size. After 6 months it became clear that the chemo did work, but in the bottom line, the chemo is a loser. Dr. Super didn't give up and pulled out CART, which is personalized therapy with target-directed cells. Something with genetic engineering and lots of money

 

I did not suffer too much during the chemo treatments. Good sleep and very little nausea. In the CART treatment, all the stories about suffering in cancer treatments mineralized strongly. A week of light chemo, a week of deadly headache, tremors in hands and feet. Getting out of bed was carefully considered and completely eliminated for several days. Another week to recover, and at the end of 3 weeks when it turned out that I was breathing, I was thrown home. A long recovery began, when the hemoglobin, which I was not so aware of until this stage, stars in the weekly review, 8.5 in an upward trend but outrageous slowly. While in normal chemo after a week, the morning walk was already, let's say vigorous, with the CART even after a month, no more than shuffling with an option to rest in between. After 3 months I tried to run a little, an idea I abandoned after 100 meters due to reluctance in my calves

 

After 4 months equipped with improved hemoglobin, 10.8 out of the 13 desired, and with encouraging PetCT results, I ran 1 kilometer, on the second day 2 kilometers and on the third day 3 kilometers. At the moment this is the portion, in a week I will try to increase to 4 kilometers. Running slowly but two feet in the air. The runs start at 5:30 in the morning, those who want to join, registration with Nina until 19:00 in the evening, for the next morning. Also licking your knees after the run, included in the price

And to the reservation. Contrary to the opening in Hungarian, the white dot did not disappear but only faded. So maybe I should be a little more worried? Several experienced doctors look at large-screen PetCT imaging from different angles with different image processing and filters. The result of the discussion between them is called a decipherment, and here is the most important line from it

Absorption in the aortocaval lymph node in the middle retro-peritoneum improved, from a MAX SUV of 4.4 to 2.2 (below the absorption capacity of the liver).

A kind of gibberish that sounds alarming on its face. So I sent the doctor in Shiba the decoding, I went up with her in the whatsup and asked

[16:47, 19/07/2023] Yiftach Maayan:

I downloaded the results from Sheba's website. What does it means? should I be worried

[17:02, 19/07/2023] Doctor Ronit Marcus Sheba Tel Hashomer: No, it's excellent!

[17:06, 19/07/2023] Yiftach Maayan:

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss

[17:07, 19/07/2023] Doctor Ronit Marcus Sheba Tel Hashomer: Congratulations! What a beauty

 

And yet doctors, especially cancer doctors, have a tendency to add a pink spot or two to the story they tell the patient. So I also waited for another inspection by Hillel Yaffe. And if Doctor Sofer says the results are good, then the results are good. And a little more explanation, even if all the cancers have died, it is possible that the PetCT will show weak activity in the place of the former tumor, as a result of mild inflammation or the demon knows what. In any case, the PetCT can detect tumors about a millimeter in size, not smaller. The size of a cancer cell is in the order of hundredth of millimeter. So according to Google, in the smallest growth that can still be discerned, close to 100,000 small crabs can thrive. That is, a clean PetCT shows that the treatment has worked, but there is no way to verify that there are no survivors, i.e. single cells that cannot be seen in PetCT. For this option there is a follow-up, PetCT every 3 months. In the bottom line, statistically speaking, the pale spot, neither increase nor decrease chances for cancer recurring and the PetCT image is as good as a clean one

 

So after I am sure, as much as possible, that I do not sin in empty thanksgiving, I will not miss another opportunity for thanksgiving

Many thanks to the State of Israel and the health system in Israel for the dedicated and successful treatment. To Doctor Sofer from Hillel Yaffe Hospital, that had the first and last word, the nursing team, Moran, Betty, Mazal... who accompanied me for 8 months until the CART treatment performed at Sheba. Thanks to Dr. Ronit Marcus, Yulia, and Dr. Avigdor, director of the Sheba Cancer Institute. In the transplant department: doctors, Shimoni, Ronit, Noga... nursing team, Noy, Nicole, Dalia, Rafik, Yusuf, Mousa... a cleaning worker, Malkama (a significant part of the treatment is a crazy cleaning of the entire room every day, which turns out not always to be enough). I won't be able to mention everyone's names here, both because of the brevity of the paper and because the CART is a kind of memory erasure. All of them, all together and each separately, saved my life. Thank you very very much. I really have no words to describe the dedication of the entire team and the attention to detail of the treatment I received. And of course thanks to God who organized and took care of the timing. If I had caught this cancer 5 years ago when there was no CART treatment yet, I would not be writing good news

 

As you can see in the picture above, I don't have remorse, but I do have a moral. When you pass the age of 60, you should be checked immediately for any slight suspicion of cancer. All my life I was completely healthy, I don't remember how many years passed since the last cold. Check with the Central Statistic Department and you'll see that cancer is the most popular disease, it is called sepsis or something like that. It's important for me to say this now because there's a good chance that if in six months, if I will hear someone talking like that, I'll say to myself: It won't happen to me

 

As mentioned, healing from cancer is not an insurance, but even with the percentages I received, one can continue life: a family, a part-time job, a little work in the garden, studying royal intelligence and much more, all the ingredients of happiness. Or in short continuing

 

Much health

To you and to me