September 24, 2026 - Treatment 5
Although the cancer cells are only slowly decreasing and my Hb dropped from 7.5 to 6.5 over the past week, the hematologist was satisfied with how the treatment is progressing. So I was welcomed back to the spa resort for treatment number five.
As for me, I haven't exactly been setting any speed records lately. I shuffle my way through the days. According to the hematologist, this is part of the so-called cumulative effect: the side effects and the toll on healthy cells build up over time, making it harder and harder for the body to recover in between.
My 81-year-old neighbor was keen to play taxi driver for a day. He normally volunteers at the Hillig Meer nature cemetery, so I kept half an eye out to make sure he was heading the right way — a funeral still feels a bit premature, as far as I'm concerned. That worry turned out to be unfounded, of course. As a former Grolsch truck driver with 45 years of service under his belt, he steered his ride to the Wilhelmina Spa Resort in Assen with total composure.
Everyone on the oncology ward was friendly and helpful again. The Tavegil, prednisolone, rituximab, and cyclophosphamide were administered — or so I'm assuming, since I spent most of my four-hour stay asleep. That completed the spa-resort feeling; the only thing missing was a bathrobe.
Treatment six is scheduled for October 22. Whether that will also be the last one isn't clear yet — it depends on the results. On Tuesday I'm getting my ninth COVID shot. By now I've had so much poison pumped into my system that an extra dose of genetic code (mRNA) can hardly make a difference.