Doing Well, Marcus?

Submitted by Marcus Döring on 25 November, 2008 - 14:36

Marcus Döring suffers from testicular cancer (since 2001) a.k.a. "T.C." and atypical sarcoidosis (probably since 1979, diagnosed 2004) a.k.a. "Sarc.".

Quite a few people keep asking about my health status - no wonder after my disease mileage ;-) so I decided to put up this page about my current health status - which is as of December 1, 2008:

"quite well - after having worked again part-time -
currently enjoying my 20 months parental leave period"

Major facts and events in chronological order:

Year T.C. Sarc. Details
1979      
October   Sarc. 1. fever attack (more than 40 degrees Celsius) of unknown origin,
more than 30 such fever attacks since then until today
1989      
September   Sarc. Ulcus in right lower leg,
suspected to be vasculitis or sarcoidosis granulomatosa
1996      
February    Sarc. Discovery of cirrhosis of right kidney,
unknown if result of pyelitis or by birth
1999      
November     Discovery of small holes in retinae of both eyes
December     Photocoagulation of retina of left eye.
2001      
February 5  T.C.   Discovery of a malign testicular cancer tumor,
operation: orchiectomy of right testicle
February 7  T.C.   CT scan 1: thorax and abdomen,
discovery of abdominal and suspicious lung metastases
February 27  T.C.   Day 0 of chemo-cycle 1, BEP scheme
March 20  T.C.   Day 0 of chemo-cycle 2, BEP scheme
April 19  T.C.   CT scan 2: thorax and abdomen,
confirmation of abdominal and suspicious lung metastases,
though smaller in size
May 17  T.C.   Day 0 of chemo-cycle 3, BEP scheme
June 13  T.C.   CT scan 3: thorax and abdomen,
confirmation of abdominal metastases,
though again smaller in size,
lung suspicion no longer favoured
July 26  T.C.   Operation: retroperitoneal lymph node dissection,
discovery of a remaining vital tumor mass in abdominal node
August 7     CT scan 4: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
September 24     CT scan 5: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
October 22  T.C.   Day 0 of chemo-cycle 4, BEP scheme
November 9  T.C.   Autologous stem cell harvest
November 22  T.C.   Day 0 of chemo-cycle 5, BEP scheme
December 14     CT scan 6: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2002      
January 29     CT scan 7: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
May 2     CT scan 8: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
July 30     CT scan 9: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
October 29     CT scan 10: abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2003      
January 14    Sarc. CT scan 11: thorax and abdomen,
suspicious lung locations (left and right) found,
wait and see recommended
April 24    Sarc. CT scan 12: thorax and abdomen,
suspicious lung locations (left and right) no longer existing,
no additional suspicious nodes found
July 22     CT scan 13: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
October 28     CT scan 14: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found,
change of surveillance interval to 6 months
2004      
April 30    Sarc. CT scan 15: thorax and abdomen,
suspicious location found in right lung: metastasis of primary testicular tumor?
another double-check foreseen for May 18
May 18    Sarc. CT scan 16: thorax,
suspicious location (right lung) increased in size, additional one found: metastases?
discussion with doctors foreseen for the next days to evaluate options: thoracotomy, chemotherapy
May 24    Sarc. Lung operation (thoracotomy),
five lung locations identified,
though definitely no metastases of the primary testicular tumor,
but benign tumors in the lung
July 8    Sarc. Sero-hemato-pneumothorax and disruption of right lung,
occured during lung function test
July 8-13    Sarc. CT scans 18, 19: thorax,
remaining mass under right lung identified (7x5cm) - discussed as being result of thoracotomy and pneumothorax,
favoured diagnosis of lung tumors: symptom of an atypical sarcoidosis,
no additional suspicious nodes found
August 26     CT scan 20: thorax and abdomen,
size of remaining mass under right lung decreased,
no additional suspicious nodes found
November 4     CT scan 21: thorax,
size of remaining mass under right lung decreased,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2005      
March 10     CT scan 22: abdomen,
size of remaining mass under right lung no longer visible,
no additional suspicious nodes found
August 15    Sarc. CT scan 23: thorax and abdomen,
new mass under left lung identified (5x2mm) - discussed as being a small scar,
no additional suspicious nodes found
November 7    Sarc. CT scan 24: thorax,
size of remaining mass under left lung no longer visible,
new mass under right lung identified (2x2cm) - a "bulla" discussed as due to sarcoidosis,
no additional suspicious nodes found,
change of (testicular cancer) surveillance interval to 12 months
November 24    Sarc. severe fever attack,
over the period of five days, with 3-4 shiverings per day, up to 42 degrees Celsius, each time followed by cooling down by means of medicine,
seen as relapse of atypical sarcoidosis
November 28     X-ray: thorax,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2006      
Februar 14    Sarc. CT scan 25: thorax, suspicious location massivley decreased in size, barely visible
May 11     X-ray: thorax,
no additional suspicious nodes found
August 17     CT scan 26: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2007      
March 29     CT scan 27: thorax,
no additional suspicious nodes found
August 23     CT scan 28: thorax and abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found
2008      
January 16     X-ray: thorax,
no additional suspicious nodes found
November 19     MRT scan 1: abdomen,
no additional suspicious nodes found,
visual (testicular cancer) check: change from CT scan to MRT
2009      
.     .

Wow, you kept on reading up to the end of the table... Thanks for your interest! - Questions? Get in touch with me.