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G06 - February 2006 - Neurolymphoma
Intro: He's a world-class martial arts champion. He's won fights in Europe, Asia and the United States. The pro you're about to meet also coaches some of the top wrestlers and Thai boxers in the country. But his strength could not fend off a deadly cancer. A cancer that causes debilitating pain. It took some intense detective work by doctors at Mayo Clinic to make the diagnosis and find a treatment that would keep this athlete alive.
| Video | Audio |
| Total running time 1:36 | "THESE GUYS BACK THERE ARE DOING COMBAT SUBMISSION WRESTLING." |
| AFTER YEARS OF COACHING, FIGHTING ... | |
| Greg Nelson | "WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION, HOOK AND SHOOT." |
| AND WINNING MARTIAL ARTS COMPETITIONS, WORLD CHAMPION GREG NELSON IS NO STRANGER TO PAIN. | |
Greg Nelson |
"I'VE BROKE MY NOSE FOUR TIMES, BROKE MY CLAVICLE, DISLOCATED MY STERNUM, BROKE MY RIBS ... " |
| SO WHEN THE PAIN OF CANCER, NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA STRUCK, GREG FOUGHT BACK. | |
| Greg Nelson | "I WAS, LIKE, NOW MY COMPETITION IS TO BEAT THIS." |
| CHEMOTHERAPY WORKED. THE TUMORS IN GREG'S ABDOMEN SHRANK. BUT THEN THE PAIN SUDDENLY GOT WORSE. | |
Greg Nelson |
"SHARP PAINS, LIKE FIRES BURNING CONSTANTLY. I MEAN, IT WAS JUST 100 PERCENT CONSTANT MAJOR PAIN." |
Robert Spinner, M.D. |
"SEEING THIS STRONG MAN CURLED UP IN BED WITH THE IV DRIP GOING, PARALYZED IN HIS LOWER EXTREMITIES WAS DEVASTATING." |
To animation |
USING MRI IMAGING AND A NERVE BIOPSY, DR. ROBERT SPINNER AND A TEAM AT MAYO CLINIC DIAGNOSED THE CAUSE OF GREG'S PAIN. NEUROLYMPHOMA. YOU SEE, CELLS FROM GREG'S ORIGINAL CANCER, THE NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA, INFILTRATED GREG'S SPINAL FLUID. THEN THOSE CELLS TRAVELED DOWN HIS NERVES INTO HIS LEGS CAUSING DAMAGE AND SEVERE PAIN. GREG'S TREATMENT INCLUDED MORE CHEMO AND A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT. (NATS SOUND) GREG WON THE FIGHT. HE RECOVERED FROM A DISEASE THAT UNTIL NOW WAS ALMOST ALWAYS FATAL. |
Standup End on Greg coaching |
GREG'S STILL IN PAIN, HIS LEFT FOOT HURTS EVERY DAY, BUT HE CAN DEMONSTRATE ALL THE MOVES AND SOON HE'LL COMPETE AGAIN. (SOUND) FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS. |
Tag: Greg is very lucky. That's because Dr. Spinner and his team were able to make the difficult diagnosis of an extremely rare condition and get him a novel treatment that worked. Before this disease was recognized many thought the weakness might be a side effect of chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Therefore patients like Greg may not have gotten the right treatment. Now that there are treatments that work, people like Greg can survive and thrive. For more information, log on to our Web site at ...
STATIONS: Per the licensing agreement, please provide a link from your station's Web site to www.mayoclinic.org/medical-edge or voice tag "mayoclinic.org/medical-edge" for more information.
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