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Do you fear your Cancer Returning?

Todd W Franzen

August 29, 2018

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Reoccurrence

I was going into Rocky Mountain imaging for my 3rd PET scan. I finished up my 12th round of ABVD chemo around a month and a half earlier. My anxiety was high as getting scans are uncomfortable.

I call it scanxiety.

I’m feeling optimistic. I go into the relax room and the nurse brings in my radioactive glucose shot. After the shot, I relax and watch tv. An hour or so later, I go into the imaging room and lay down on the tray. The nurse straps me down and puts a couple warm blankets on me. I fall asleep. The nurse wakes me up and go change.

I learned a lot from my oncologist explaining what the scans mean. After each scan, I ask to see what the image looks like in the imaging room.

That’s when I saw it… A little spot in the same area as the original.

That sinking feeling in your gut. I didn’t tell my family because I wasn’t sure what I saw.

I wanted to confirm that what I saw was my fear.

A couple days later during my appointment with Dr. Kantor, he broke the news confirming my fear.

I’m having a reoccurrence.

We discussed the next course of action. Due to the nature of the situation, a stem cell transplant was up next.

The Fear is Real!

What do you do? What can you do? Does this mean the end?

These and hundreds more questions start floating in your head.

Even being in remission going on 8 years now, the “what if” is always floating in the back of my mind.

It’s easy to slip down the rabbit hole as a survivor. Statically there’s a higher chance of having a reoccurrence or a second diagnosis. Now you know why it’s so important to make the most of this after cancer life. Finding peace makes the rest of he mental and Visual challenges that much easer to swallow.

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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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