Ken, 64, is an NHL survivor, daughter Michelle is glad to report
'My name is Michelle and my dad, Ken, has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He's 64 years old and was diagnosed in 1999, after I continually nagged him about a swelling I could see in his neck.
'He visited his GP and was sent straight to hospital where a biopsy was taken. Further tests showed that he had stage 4 low-grade lymphoma, with growths in his groin, abdomen, neck and chest. It was decided that he would have the watch and wait form of treatment as he was in no immediate danger.
'In January 2000, the growths had got quite large and my dad had begun to lose weight. He needed treating. We decided to opt for the clinical trial that was offered to us and, after my dad's name was put into the computer, he was allotted the monoclonal antibody treatment. This is a drug given with chemotherapy. It was explained in "layman's" terms as "putting little flags" on the cancer cells so that the cancer cells can be targeted more effectively. The treatment took place over 6 months and, after just one treatment, the swelling in my dad's neck was noticeably smaller.
'My dad suffered no ill effects from the following course of chemotherapy at all and, after a scan halfway through the treatment, a massive reduction in the size of the cells was evident. Upon completion of therapy, a scan showed the lymphoma to be fully in remission. We were delighted.
'My dad went back for routine check ups and scans every 3 months. Nothing changed until 2004, when a few small growths had returned in his groin and armpits, along with some very small ones in his stomach. Early tests revealed that these were growing only slowly and that treatment was not urgent. However, a recent visit to the hospital has shown that two lumps in my dad's neck are lymphoma. This has upset my dad - I guess because they're more visible than the others. Also, they remind him that he still has cancer. On the up side, he's really well, has no signs of illness at all and is gaining weight. He even quit smoking 5 months ago - something I never dreamed possible.
'I feel really positive. The way I view it is that Dad's getting around 5 years between treatments and is as fit as a flea! I feel this is more than we could have hoped for in the beginning. Long may it continue.'
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