The First Post

So, where does a person begin a story of epic proportion. Maybe I’ll do this Tarantino style. We’ll start in the middle, work our way backwards, and then have a big finish. I could just be straight forward or I could myself and start and stop and jump for event to event with no real rhyme or reason. Either way, here we go.

I’m a 31-year old male, who is attempting to survive a battle with cancer. What kind you ask? Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). Yes, Mantle Cell Lymphoma. You’ve never heard of MCL?! Don’t feel bad. I had never heard of it either in April ‘08, when the oncologists at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston gave me their diagnosis.

Let’s tell you a little bit about Mantle Cell. It is a B-cell non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and one of the rarest. Only 5-7% of all non-Hodgkins cancer patients per year will fall into the category of MCL. It is most commonly diagnosed in males over the age of 60. There is no known cure for MCL. Even with active treatments of chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow transplants, most patients will fall victim to MCL between 3-6 years of diagnosis.

Today is October 17, 2009 and one year ago I was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital to begin the process of a donor stem cell transplant (similar to a bone marrow transplant) to hopefully save my life and buy as much time as possible while being afflicted with this horrible blood disease.

This is only the first post of a what might end up being a long lasting blog. I've had a few friends ask me to tell my story as they see it may bring hope and motivation to others, fighting cancer, illness, or other problems in their lives.

I want to thank those friends and family and my very loyal medical staff who have stuck with me through from diagnosis 18 months ago though my current attempt at recovery and remission. There is much more story to tell, so please stick with me as this ride is going to get bumpier before it smooths out.

Cheers!