Recovery Road

Todd W Franzen

May 6, 2011

   Thanks for being patient with me.  Today is day +221 since transplant…
Since the doc’s gave me the ok to start working, ive been busy in the field and office working on building a spec duplex building out by the Breck golf course.  Doing the book keeping and payroll ends up taking up a bunch of time too.  So I’ve been slacking on getting in here and writing.  Throw in a little computer failure and blog writing gets put on the back burner…

   Yesterday I had a scheduled PET scan.  It was a long day and my anxiety levels were a bit on the high side.  Ill tell you it doesn’t get any easer!  I guess that is why I have been working a lot. Helps keep my head focused.  But this one was tense.  This was the first scan with out being in the middle of treatment.  All the doctors say that the chances of reoccurrence are greatest with in two years after transplant.  So when it come time for the PET scan to come around I get strait up scared!  I had a bout a two hour wait between my scan and oncologist appointment.  Didn’t want to smoke weed for anxiety as I wanted to take the news completely sober.   Fortunately the scans showed no signs of the Lymphoma!  I had quite an emotional release when I got to my car!

   So for the first time since I can remember, I wish the ski season wasn’t over.  I know I can go to the Basin, but, tough seeing it closed so early.  I remember it staying open till some time in May.  I guess with all the snow…  I was having a lot of fun this season.  I need to ask the forest service about a special use permit after the season ends.  Could have had two extra weeks of powder!  Don’t get me wrong, i’m ready for summer.  Ready to play golf and be in shorts.  Living up on Boreas Pass with easily five feet of snow in the yard…

  
   Ok, A politics rant.  Don’t Run… So we got UBL!  Ill tell you what, I would have pulled the trigger myself if I had the chance!  Im also glad that out president made the decision by not releasing the photos.  It shows that Americans are a better people and that we have class!  Unlike the middle east bastards that drag our troops and reporters through the sand and dirt after decapitating them.  It also shows that the USA is the best country in the world!
   For the record, I don’t agree with pretty much any of our represented politicians!  Demarcate or Republican!  None of them care about the little guy and the little business.  I just saw my tax rate increase for my business, and frankly I don’t have the money to pay.  Let alone the certainty of work!  Add retarded fuel prices and you got your self the perfect recipe for bankruptcy.  Im not going there yet, but I looked at a monthly snap shot of my finances and 38% is going to fuel.  Fucking great!  Heres a link from The Heritage Foundation on our current budget levels.  In other words, i’m tired of politicians making big decisions that affect my life with out my opinion!  They are making everyday life more complicated!  I thought my vote means something?

   If you want a good book to read, Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt.  A good read and makes you think!  I especially like the chapter Why drug dealers still live with there parents!  It got me a bit more interested in economics and how it all works together.

  

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Todd W Franzen


I am a two-time Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor with 17 years of documented cancer survivorship experience that spans multiple treatment eras. My journey began in November 2009 with a Stage 4B diagnosis at age 33, and continued through recurrence and treatment in 2019-2021. This rare longitudinal perspective—living through two complete treatment cycles a decade apart—gives me comparative insight into cancer care evolution that no single medical professional can replicate.

MY TREATMENT EXPERIENCE

First Treatment Cycle (2009-2010)
• 12 infusions of ABVD Chemotherapy over 6 months
• 2 infusions of ICE Chemotherapy (4-day infusions)
• 1 infusion of BEAM Chemotherapy
• 1 Autologous Stem-Cell Transplant
• 8 PET Scans
• 6 CT Scans

Second Treatment Cycle (2019-2021)
• 2 infusions of Brentuximab and Bendamustine
(Severe allergic reaction to Brentuximab — hives)
• 25 rounds of Radiation to Mediastinum (46RAD combined)
• 4 infusions of Keytruda Immunotherapy
• 2 infusions of IGEV Chemotherapy (5-day infusions)
• 1 Total Body Radiation (2RAD)
• 1 Sibling Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplant
• 6 PET Scans
• 6 CT Scans

COMPARATIVE EXPERTISE

Surviving two stem-cell transplants—one autologous, one sibling allogeneic—across different decades of cancer treatment has given me firsthand experience with nearly every major modality in lymphoma care: combination chemotherapy, salvage chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation protocols, and both types of stem-cell transplantation. I've experienced treatment side effects from the "standard" ABVD era through the modern immunotherapy period.

This comparative expertise matters for survivors. Treatment protocols in 2009 looked very different from 2019, and the long-term survivorship implications are still emerging. Doctors treat; survivors live with the aftermath. I've done both—twice.

CREDENTIALS & PROJECTS

• Founder: Strap In For Life 501(c)(3) nonprofit
• Author: Internal Architect: A Cancer Survivor's Memoir
• Licensed Insurance Agent (practical healthcare system navigation)
• 17-year cancer survivor documenting the journey since 2008

WHAT I WRITE ABOUT

Cancer survivorship doesn't end when treatment stops—it's when the real reconstruction begins. My blog covers:
• Practical survivorship (relationships, careers, identity)
• Treatment experience insights (what they don't tell you)
• Long-term effects and secondary health considerations
• Mental health and emotional reconstruction
• Healthcare system navigation

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