This Cannot Be Stressed Enough
A tragic story came across my news feed this morning. A young man passed away from just two weeks into his treatments for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Now I need to be clear, the post appears to have come from a friend, not a relative so the details are coming third hand.
It needs to be stressed, his passing is quite complicated, or rather, from complications. He did not pass from Hodgkin’s itself, and not likely, possible, but not likely from his treatment itself. There are a lot of unknowns with this post not being from a direct family member, so I want to be careful not to speculate. The person posting the article said that he evidently had an infection, but had confused it with possibly being side effects from the chemo. By the time he sought help, he was full blown septic, and passed away. His profile picture shows a young man, probably not even thirty years old, and likely quite healthy otherwise.
Again, I want to be careful with what is known and not make any determining conclusion as to what happened. Because I do not know, and neither did the person writing the post. And though I am not a doctor, I am only fairly certain, neither is the writer. But here is what I do know from personal experience, and my involvement with the cancer community.
Our bodies do let us know when something is wrong. But it is more than just noticing, action needs to be taken. The writer mentioned that her friend was not feeling well for quite some time. I will admit that I am someone who “ignores” or does not recognize when something does not feel right. I have had numerous lectures from medical personnel, that I should have gotten medical attention much sooner, as I look at them like a deer caught in headlights.
I am not sure when this young man developed his infection, and I would only be assuming that it had to be after his treatment, since bloodwork is done prior to the administering of the treatment, and an infection likely would have shown in the bloodwork, and his treatment would have been halted until the issue had been determined and treated. And of course, once treatment is administered, any number of side effects can occur with any level of discomfort. Here is where it gets difficult. And here comes my warning to you, whether in treatment or a everyday healthy human being.
If you truly do not feel well, especially after treatment, as I often tell cancer patients, “if you eye lashes hurt, call your doctor. Let them decide if it is something that requires attention or if it is nothing. They are the ones with the education and training.” All to often, we simply do not want to bother our care staff, because we “know this stuff was supposed to happen,” or “it’s not that bad,” or, “they have more important and sick patients to worry about.” NO! NO! And NO! If you are feeling something unusual, you are the most important person to your doctor and they are the only ones who can determine whether or not you need additional attention.
Again, I do not know the chemo regimen the young man was getting. But if it was the standard, which has been used over four decades now, there are drugs used that can cause issues immediately, but when they do, there is usually time to catch them before any true damage is done. This man’s situation does not seem like that is what happened, but rather, having an infection, receiving a treatment, which of course, will drive down the body’s immune system (its ability to fight infection), and send the situation to a point where little if anything can be done. And that is what appears to have happened.
Admittedly, I can relate to this young man. Just as an example, one of many actually, when I refer to the time I had my emergency bypass, I had symptoms for over four months, and did nothing because I did not think of it as a big deal. I had gotten to the point where my cardiologist had told me after the surgery, “it was not a question of ‘if’ you were going to do, but ‘when'”. I would love to be able to write that I learned my lesson after that, but I did not. And it is not something I do on purpose. I honestly do not recognize when I have symptoms. Yes, I have had other situations since, some, just as dire. And if it were not for someone around me, actually noticing my facial expression changing or some other sign, this story could easily be about me.
Listen to your body. It lets you know when something is not right. Your life matters. Let those trained in medicine tell you, if it is something that requires attention or not. And this does not matter if you are dealing with cancer, surviving cancer, or never had cancer.
Paul's Heart 