Mark Simonetti
Barrington, N.J.
Hi,
I am a survivor of the dreaded disease. I saw your article and (it) brought back a lot of memories for me. Back in May of 2001 I went for a normal checkup because my father was in Temple University Hospital waiting for a heart transplant, and my wife and parents wanted me to go the doctor's for a normal checkup.
I checked out fine but in my blood work they found something. The doctor didn't say anything to me; she just wanted me to go for another blood test with a specialist. Two weeks later I went to the Cooper Cancer Center. They took more blood and tested my bone marrow. Still nobody was really saying anything. On Friday June 8, 2001 just two days before my 28th birthday, I got the call about 3 p.m. from the doctor telling me that I had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and I need to start chemo on Tuesday, June 11, 2001.
I went for my first chemo treatment. The doctor went in more detail about my cancer. I had stage 4 non-Hodgkin, the worst one to get and for my age of 28 this was very odd. My doctor used me as a case study with other doctors. I went through eight rounds of chemo lasting an eight-hour day every three weeks plus learning to give myself two needles every day from home.
This was a life-changing experience for me and my family. I am 29 with a wife, a 4-year-old daughter and a 10 month-old son at home. The doctor told me he was going to do everything possible for me to beat this. If I had waited another six months I would have died.
It was very tough, the treatments, the sickness and trying to be a husband and a father. I still worked every day. That helped me a lot. I am a police and 911 dispatcher for Camden County. I would get sick at my work station and still help others with their 911 calls.
I knew that I was going to beat this. The biggest task for us was not to tell my father who was in Temple Hospital waiting for a new heart. I looked like hell and I could not see him for two reasons. The first reason was that I could not go into the environment of a hospital, and second, my father would want to come home, and if he did he would have lost his spot for his new heart.
This October 31, I was in remission for three years and am still going strong, gained a little weight and my father got his heart in December 2001 and lasted 'til May 2004. He passed away but our lives have totally changed for the best.