I received a phone call from the Personal Secretary of my Oncologist who asked me if I was willing to talk to a patient with Multiple Myeloma. The patient was supposedly hesitating to undergo SCT (Stem Cell Transplant).

I didn’t mind talking. In fact i was more than eager to help anyone by sharing my experiences.

I receive a phone call from a guy whose father is the patient.
He asked me a lot of questions.
How I was detected with MM.
How many years since I underwent SCT..
The side effects of chemo.
About losing hair.
Skin turning dark after SCT.
The number of days i spent in the hospital.
How long it would be before the patient can resume normal activities.
Whether i follow any alternative treatment.

Since last one year I have been quite comfortable about sharing my experiences on this blog and other forums.

The guy wanted to meet me personally along with his mom and uncle. For a moment I did feel a little uncomfortable about meeting a patient/caregiver face to face. However, I met them at the hospital and went there after work.

At the cafe in the hospital more questions followed and I learnt more about the condition of the patient. A 61 year old with problem in lungs, liver, backbone and kidneys.  My Oncologist recommended SCT to the patient.Surely the doc is confident and I have the confidence in him. The caregivers asked me about alternative treatment and I said I have been using since a year .
I advised them not to think about alternative treatment at this stage. That they should go for SCT and later they can plan for alternative treatments along with Allopathy. They felt the same way.

They did take a second opinion and SCT was advised by the other doctor too..

I cautioned them about following proper diet and to follow the Diet given at the hospital during discharge.That the patient restrict his movements outside home and use a mask for a few months till his immunity improves because one is prone to infections at this stage.

I also informed them that each patient is different and the experiences may not be the same and cannot be compared.I told them to make the patient feel comfortable and assure him that everything will be fine and to be cheerful around him which is a very important part in healing ,that actually works.

After a while they asked me if I was willing to meet the patient. They wanted me to tell their dad about the importance of diet.I saw a lot of visitors waiting to meet their dad .He was an ex politician .The patient did appear weak and was recovering from a recent lung infection. I told him to be strong and take care of his diet.

I told the guy to inform all the visitors that all will be well. That they are in the best Hospital and with the best doctor who is also a cancer crusader.

~ Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavanthu ~