Hodgkin Cancer

[Diabolo]

Dear colleagues,

I just get the bad news 2 day ago that I have a cancer called "Hodgkin Lymphnotes"....
It is still very very hard for me to believe this..
According to the preliminary exams I am on stage III of the cancer (max stage is IV)..

I would like to know if any other colleague had this experience and do they fly again after the Chemotherapy treatment ?

I wish all the best and good health to everybody..

THX
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[Seat1APlease]

I am sorry to hear that.

I think in english it is called Lymphoma i.e. a form of malignant growth of the lymph nodes and lymphatic system. There are several types including Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Hodgkins Lymphoma.

I doubt if they will let you fly again until after all the Chemo is over, but concentrate first on getting yourself better, and worry about that later

All the best, and good luck.

[Diabolo]

Thank you Seat1APlease

I will fight against this Hodgkin's for my familly.

I will look after the chemo what I can do about my passion(flight)..

Thanks again,

Does people fly after chemo ???

If any other info please send me

[Say again s l o w l y]

Good luck in your battle, my mother suffered from hodgkin's a few years ago and is absolutely fine now, so it can be beaten.

She's not a pilot, but she suffers no ill effects now from her treatment.

Give it a good kicking and I wish you all the best.

[Clarence Oveur]

I had a colleague who also suffered from Hodgkins. He came back flying after his treatment. So there is probably a very good chance that you could also.

Best of luck.

[effortless]

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has one of the better prognoses after treatment even stage 3 and 4. You are in a good part of the world for treatment and can have every expectation of the highest standard of care.

Tout passe mon cher, tout passe.

[stalling attitude]

i too had a friend diagnosed with this form of cancer a few years back and am pleased to say that he has his medical back and is jetting all over the world so it can be beaten.

good luck

[sony]

It can be beaten,
May you have the best of luck,

With well wishes,

Sony

[Diabolo]

Merci & Thank you guys!
I feel already better and will start my treatment on next Tuesday..

I wish you all some happy trails on the sky, I will be looking from my window.

"le petit prince"

[effortless]

http://www.korczak.com/Exupery/pics/023.jpg

[dwshimoda]

And a brilliant motorcylce rider, Jamie Whitham, in England was diagnosed in 1995 with it, at the age of 28. He beat it, and went back to a career at the top flight of racing. So you too Diabolo will be back flying again soon.

DW

[Random Electron]

Diabolo.

All the very best for the treatment.

You keep us posted now, you hear?

[Cabin doors 2 manual]

Diabolo
I too was diagnosed with Lymphoma last July. Actually the non-hodgkins type and stage IV :confused: Once treatment started it was almost all gone by the third chemo treatment out of six :ok: Now I have no side effects and no medication to take - just back to normal life.
Dont let the staging worry you when it comes to Lymphoma, as already mentioned its highly treatable and quoted by oncologists as "the best cancer to get if you are going to get cancer". In my case stage IV lymphoma is nothing like other cancers stage IV (the CAA dont understand this though).
I have lost my class 1 medical until October (one year after treatment ends) when I can apply for a restricted (co-pilot only) medical and another year wait for unrestricted (due to the staging). I am currently disputing the UK CAA on this issue as their concerns about recurring cancer /staging are mislead and my oncologist has already explained to them that there is no risk for me to return to flying right now. Unfortunetly we all know what the CAA is like for red tape and rules for rules sake. I actually find dealing with the CAA on this issue harder and more depressing than the entire diagnosis and treatment of my cancer.
There are some places where the cancer can be such as the central nervous system where apparently the CAA will never allow you to fly again.
Diabolo I can provide more details by private messaging which will aid your return to flying. Contact me if you wish to for advice or even just for support from someone else who has gone through this recently.
In the meantime, get on with that treatment, keep your spirits up, cry when you have to, punch the wall when you want to etc but in real terms its a shock and a few trips over a few months of your life going to hospital for treatment.
Good luck!
Cabins doors 2 manual

[derekl]

Forgive the intrusion of a pax, but I happen to know that Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, was diagnosed with this in 1983, as I recall. He survived the experience very well and is in the rudest of rude health. He still flies himself, I believe.

Good luck, I'll think you'll come through this just fine.

[Diabolo]

Hello all,

Again thx a lot for your support...
Cabin doors 2 manual Thank you and I will keep you updated how I will win this battle against Hodgkin..
After a week grounded I already miss flying. I hope I will be back soon on track's.

Happy trails

"Le petit Prince"

[Cabin doors 2 manual]

Just an quick update from myself about my return to flying, after speaking to the CAA today there is still a good chance I can be back flying before October, its a strange and long process (many letters and phone calls).

I will only consider myself rid of cancer once I am allowed to do all the things I did before I was diagnosed, my return to flying is the last thing on my list.

I'm missing the flying too but I hire a small plane and fly with an instructor on a regular basis just to get back into the air. Having cancer is one thing but when it changes your day to day life and you cannot do what you want to do it is tough.

[effortless]

Alternative medicine.

Should you decide to try this, please do not rely on it. It may help you but in my experience you must use it in conjunction with your oncologist's treatment.

[Bert Stiles]

I wish anyone who is grounded every bit of luck in getting back into the air and from what I've heard of Hodgkin's, it's very possible that it's one of the things that can be beaten and is compatible with a return to flying.

As for dealing with the CAA - and I have no allegiance to any organisation - I can only say from my own experience that the medical department do not wilfully turn people down. Quite the opposite - to the extent that they may hold out hope where formerly there was scepticism.

And as advice, I've found that the best aeromedics and medics in general, would caution to treat the person and not the pilot - don't do or not do anything for the sake of attempting to retain a medical category - and if you do decide to do something - do no harm.

Trite, prosaic - obvious possibly - having been there I don't think so. Well worth pondering if it happens to you.

[Simon853]

Diabolo,
I'm in the same boat as you. Back in Novemeber I was unexpectedly diagnosed with testicular cancer, and unfortunately it had already aggressively spread through my lymph nodes and into my lungs by the time it was diagnosed. 3 months on and I've almost completed my chemotherapy and the indications thus far is that the disease has responded well to treatment and I will make a complete recovery.

I of course had to surrender my Class 1. The CAA were very sympathetic and assured me when the time comes they will do anything they can to try and get me flying again but it will likely depend on whether I'm left with any lasting damage, either from the cancer or the treatment itself, which is of course rather toxic in itself.

I was halfway through my PPL(H) on the eventual route to CPL(H) so it came as a hell of a blow. Of concern to me now is whether I can get the C1 back at all, and whether it'll be restricted to multi-pilot for a number of years, which is obviously no good to a fledgling heli pilot or a student needing P1 time. Unfortunately for the peace of mind, there are no hard and fast rules within the CAA regarding this issue, as it's all evaluated on an individual basis, which I actually took to be the fortunate side, as it allows us to get the best advice and fight our own corners, hopefully without simply coming up against beaurocracy and red tape for the sake of it.

I have about another month to go before my oncologist will be in a position to write his report for the CAA and I can start the ball rolling. I know I'll likely have to sit this year out regardless, but I'm hopeful that I'll be flying again before too long.

Best regards,

Si

[Cabin doors 2 manual]

Simon853

I should have mentioned before even though I have lost my JAA class 1medical I could apply for the NPPL (restricted, no passengers) which would allow me to fly SEP solo still. I'm not sure if the NPPL covers helicopters but maybe worth looking into if you want to hour build whilst waiting for your JAA medical to re-instated.

[Wrathmonk]

Diabolo

First of all - good luck in your battle.

Not quite the same but I have been in remission from bowel cancer for the last 16 years or so - it hasn't stopped me flying fast jets in the RAF for the last 15 (finished treatment in the June, flew again in September of the same year!). Never say never, and if they do say no keep fighting!

Again, best of luck

W

[Diabolo]

Hello All,

Fully recovered since July.
Back to Operation ! feels good to be back in the blue sky !

Thank you all for your support.
Happy trails

[Say again s l o w l y]

Excellent news. Congratulations and enjoy your flying!

[squawking 7700]

I actually flew gliders between chemotherapy infusions and whilst taking oral steroids - in the UK if you're fit to drive a car, you're fit to fly a glider.

The CAA however, whilst very supportive, wouldn't let me fly P1 (powered)until I'd finished with the steroids, I was still taking an oral form of chemotherapy when I returned to power flying and did so for 18 months.

It's a very good (emotional) feeling to get back in an aeroplane (of whatever description) during and after treatment.

My treatment wasn't for cancer (immune system needed blitzing into submission or it would have killed me) but the effects of the treatment were the same.

You can beat it, best of luck.


7700

[rhovsquared]

Hodgkin lymphoma is characterized by so called Reed Sternberg cells in whic a bilobate nucleus is found in B lymphocytes upon microscopic examination by a pathologist. It happens to be a rather treatable malignancy if caught early
I don't have the survival rates [five and ten year] before me now, nor the recomended chemotherapy protocols but I believe it to be Cisplatin and Doxyrubicin:confused:

I'm not gonna rant on about TNM but if its something like T[primary tumor]1 or 2 N [secondary lymph node involvement] 0 or 1 and M [distant metastases-spreading to other sites] 0 [ask your oncologist] then treatment should be highly effective.

Best of luck with your treatments and try to keep a positive outlook great advances are being made all the time even for more advanced cases:ok:



Happy Landings:}
rhov:)

[Jason2000]

Congratulations, Diablo! Really glad to hear you are completely fixed.

It's pretty crazy to see how 'common' Lymphoma seems to be.

I was newly diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in July and am currently going through the chemo at the moment - have done two sessions of it so far.

So you got no problems from the regulatory authorities post the chemo then?

[pentium2828]

Hi Diabolo (http://www.pprune.org/forums/member.php?u=81557)

I hope you can recover very soon. As for me i had suffered the same illness as you 2 year ago. I was in UK Studying for my university at that time, ready to put my cadet pilot applications. I had to give it all up and went back to HK for treatment. It was a long filght, but I managed to pull it off and won the battle againest cancer. I hope all the best on everything, I do wish you can get back to the sky ASAP. As for me I went last year to UK and still manage to pull off a degree in Engineering. I think I learnt to think differently after i encounted this illness. But after all, we both took a different path in life compare with other people. I think no matter is a bad or good path, all i know is that it will lead us brighter day... Get well soon.

[yames]

Hi pentium2828

I know quite some time has passed since your post and even more since you had to give up your pilot dream... but didn't you try later to apply to some pilot training?
Hope your health is good since then....

Yames

[GonzoXL5]

I've just noticed this thread - I'm not a flyer but I can speak for the long term surviveability rates of a Hodgkins Lymphoma - I was diagnosed at the age of 23 in 1992 and have been in remission sicne August of that year (approaching 16 years).

Since the Chemo/Radiotherapy (which lasted around 6 months), I've had two further children and have managed to hold down a pretty challenging career in IT Optimisation/Transformation.

My Oncologist always said this one was the best one to get and that 5-10 years down the line there was as little chance of a relapse as there would be of someone else getting it the first time around.