Help John KL Bone Marrow Transplant: Fight against lymphoma

Hello everyone!

My name is John Kl Ramirez, and I am 24 years old. I am a fourth-year college student pursuing engineering. I am a good basketball player. I enjoy cooking, painting, and a lot of other things. I like to explore and fulfill all my goals and dreams, not just for myself but also for my family. But all those hopes and dreams stopped because of what we'd discovered.

On November 2022, I started to get sick, feeling weak and nauseous, having multiple panic attacks, a cold sweat, and a sore throat. Later on, swollen nodes grew on my neck. At first, we thought that it was just a swollen node that would disappear after drinking warm water and taking some medicine. But no, in December of the same year, it got worse, so we went to a clinic to get a proper consultation, but we were told that this time we needed to visit a specialist to run some tests. After multiple laboratory tests, in February 2023, I had to undergo a biopsy. We've been informed that it is Hodgkin lymphoma. This news shocked my whole family because, at that time, we were still mourning my grandmother, who recently passed away due to illness. Thinking that life is so cruel. But I pray to God, and I'm thankful because I have my whole family on my back, supporting me to win this battle. So we started planning. We plan and process everything for my chemotherapy.

With my first line of medication, ABVD, it was really hard and toxic. With this medication, I was having panic attacks and started vomiting, and my whole body was weak for almost 5 days. There were some instances where, while having panic attacks, they needed to rush me to the emergency room as my platelets were low and my body started to shut down. I feel so scared about experiencing all this, but I know I have to fight it.

Hoping to get better treatment, my doctor recommended Brentuximab to us. My second line of treatment. I started to feel anxious with needles because, with my first medication, it also affected my nerves in my hands. Some of the nurses even struggled to extract some blood for my lab test. After a few cycles of Brentuximab, I had my second PET scan, but there we found out that there are still new lymph nodes in my neck and lung area. Which also saddens us because we didn't achieve the full remission we hoped for from the chemotherapy.

My doctor referred us to a new doctor who specializes in transplants. Now we're told that we're going to have a new line, the third line of my chemotherapy, BRENTUXIMAB + ICE, which is based on the opinion of other patients that this medication is much more toxic than the other medicine. And I need to undergo a bone marrow transplant, and I knew that all this new process would cost us a lot.

I know I have a long way to go, that I can do more in life, and that I still need to help my family and live my life fulfilling my goals and dreams. I prayed to God to give us strength, wisdom, and guidance to win this battle, not just for myself but for my whole family, who didn't stop supporting me throughout this process. But I know that we're struggling to pay all my medical bills, including my medication and maintenance, and to continue this process. Now, we are not just fighting against the cancer; we also need financial help; therefore, we humbly ask for your assistance. For us, any amount is very beneficial. We appreciate your support. I know that God will send us his best help. Thank you so much, and we'll update this page for his development.

UPDATE:

Here I finished my 1st cycle of BRENTUXIMAB + ICE therapy. I am very nervous at first, I experienced vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, and hypersalivation but I'm on the process of recovery now. Got my laboratories too and it shows good results from my CBC, CREA, BILIRUBIN and AST ALT.