In today’s @CancerInterviews podcast, Xylan van Eyck of Gqeberha, South Africa tells host Jim Foster how he survived Hodgkin lymphoma.  It wasn’t easy.  He underwent radiation treatment and chemotherapy.  But when they failed to kill the cancer, Xylan needed a second round of chemotherapy, which included a higher dosage, that and a stem cell transplant.  After all that, Xylan went into remission, and resumed competitive cycling.

 

Xylan van Eyck was successful broadcaster and in excellent health, but at age 26, while vacationing in Thailand, he started vomiting blood.  Upon his return to South Africa, he broke out in a rash from head to toe.  He went to see his doctor who suspected Xylon had an ulcer and ordered a series of scans.  They did reveal an ulcer, but they also revealed several of his lymph nodes were enlarged, which indicated Hodgkin lymphoma.

 

Xylan tried to be optimistic when he got the news, as doctors said the cure rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is very high. 

 

Treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma meant a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation.  He experienced hair loss and nausea.  The first six months of chemo didn’t work, so his care team proposed a higher dosage.

 

This meant four times in the hospital  for two to three days at a time, which wiped out his immune system, and at the end of that he would have a month in the hospital in isolation, where they did a stem cell transplant.  He ended up being in the hospital for another three weeks.  Depression crept in as he was told there were still cancer cells around his arms.  This time doctors proposed a higher dosage of radiation.

 

Xylan van Eyck had gone from being told his cancer would be easily curable to two years of treatments that didn’t work to being told he would need more treatments.  This latest bit of radiation was okay for Xylon, except a few days when it really affected his throat and swallowing food was extremely painful.  But a PET scan showed that the radiation had done the trick.  Xylan’s treatment wasn’t complete, as he was told he needed to come in for additional scans every three months.  Eventually the intervals between tests went from three months to six months. 

 

Xylan is back at home now.  His home backs up to a game reserve and he revels in the sight and sound of animals in his backyard.  He has learned to never take a day, any day, for granted.

 

By way of advice, Xylan van Eyck says when dealing with cancer, the body and mind have to team up.  When one is struggling, the other has to step up.

 

Additional Resources:

 

Xylon on Twitter: Twitter@XylonVE

 

Xylon on Instagram: Instagram@xylonvaneyck

 

Support Group: Cancer Association of South Africa

https://www.cansa.org.za