DAY 24 - The start of my treatment

March 3^rd - Today was my very first day marking the beginning of my treatment. My dad and my uncle accompanied me. The big sign at the entrance to the hospital area: “National Oncology Institute” was a little scary and unsettling, but as soon as we entered the hospital my worries petered out, because it was just like an ordinary hospital. A nurse in my department sent me to have my blood taken – so they sucked some seven vials of blood out of me to find out chiefly about the levels of my white blood cells – generally what my immunity was like, I guess. Then I was introduced to my doctor who is a very nice and friendly guy. I am convinced that this is one of the most important aspects when being treated, since it creates a good atmosphere and it definitely shored up my optimism. 

For the record, they are about 200 cases of the Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Slovakia every year, from which my doctor treats around one half of those. We talked about everything, mainly about my upcoming chemotherapy which is scheduled in 5 days. He noted that they need to perform a bone marrow puncture before the chemotherapy to pinpoint exactly the spread of my disease. Ooops, I am definitely not looking forward to it, but on the other hand, they know what they are doing and if it is necessary for a successful treatment, then chin up and let’s do it.