Greg Nelson

By anyone's standards, Greg Nelson is tough. The founder, owner and head coach at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis, Minn., he is one of the top martial artists in the world. Greg expects a great deal from his body and is familiar with the aches and pains that come with intense training and competition.

But in the spring of 2002, Greg began experiencing pain unlike any he'd known before. It started in his back and eventually moved down his body. His physician ran him through a battery of tests. A CAT scan revealed he had advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He immediately started a six-month course of chemotherapy. After the fifth month of treatment, tests revealed his cancer had gone into remission.

Greg thought he'd wrestled another opponent into submission. But, he would quickly learn his battle with cancer was only beginning. Soon, a new pain emerged and, this time, coming up with a diagnosis and treatment required the combined expertise of a team of specialists at Mayo Clinic.

Unraveling a mystery

The new pain moved down Greg's body, and his muscles began to weaken. The 38-year-old, who just a year earlier had been winning gold medals in international jujitsu competitions, came to rely on a cane to help him walk.

When Greg's pain began to spread and intensify, he was referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for more testing The pain became so debilitating, he was admitted to the hospital.

"Greg had such severe pain that we sent him to the intensive-care unit to be sedated and monitored," says Joseph Colgan, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist. "His was probably the worst pain syndrome I've ever seen."

While Nelson's wife, Vee, their children, Nina and Gunnar, and Nelson's mother waited at his bedside, a team of Mayo Clinic physicians worked to determine the cause of his pain. Initial testing showed no evidence of active lymphoma.

"When our standard testing failed to provide a cause for the pain, we were stuck," says Dr. Brian O'Neill, a Mayo Clinic neurologist. "It's at that point Mr. Nelson benefited from being at Mayo. Our approach to care meant we were able to spend enough time with him to carefully analyze the problem. We had access to state-of-the-art technology to help in our diagnosis. We were able to bring together a team of specialists to work together on finding a solution to the problem. Without that, I don't believe he would have survived."

During one of the team's discussions, a member suggested using a high-powered MRI machine to scan Greg's nerves for cancer. The scan revealed a faint abnormality in his upper sciatic nerve. It would take a biopsy to determine whether the abnormality was cancer; however, the nerve has important motor fibers, and the procedure involved significant risk.

"Few people dare to do this type of surgery because it's very dangerous," says Dr. O'Neill. "If something goes wrong, the patient could be paralyzed."

Robert Spinner, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, carefully removed a small portion of Greg's sciatic nerve for testing. The results came back positive for cancer. On Christmas Eve, physicians were finally able to tell Greg and his family what was causing his pain: a rare disease called neurolymphomatosis.

It's a disease as uncommon as it is hard to pronounce. "I have only seen one other person with this disease in my entire career," says Dr. O'Neill. "There are only 33 examples of this in medical literature."

Difficult to diagnose, challenging to treat

Since Dr. Colgan had never treated a patient with neurolymphomatosis, he drew from his experience with other types of cancer to determine a treatment plan. The best option was a stem-cell transplant. First, Greg had to go through another round of chemotherapy. After that, he was ready to undergo the transplant. Greg — and his physicians — were unsure how much to hope for.

"I was the first person with this type of cancer that they had brought to treatment at Mayo," Greg says. "No one knew what to expect."

The stem-cell transplant took place on Memorial Day, exactly one year after his initial diagnosis. The procedure was completed successfully. Greg spent the following summer building up strength in his legs. For months he used a walker for support, and he still depends on a cane if he expects to be on his feet for a long period of time.

"My next goal is to walk without the cane," he says. "Every week I'm able to do a little more." Follow-up tests have revealed that Greg is cancer-free. That's something he doesn't take for granted.

"When you get things taken away from you, you really appreciate them if you get them back," Greg says. "I lost my ability to walk. Now I feel blessed to be able to do something as simple as mow my own lawn."

While Greg continues to spend time at his training center and has begun coaching again, he no longer works 12-hour days. Instead, he takes his daughter to the bus stop each morning and picks her up at the end of her school day. He plays with his son, something he was unable to do for much of Gunnar's young life.

"When I was in the hospital, I would pray to God to let me live to see my children grow up," Greg says. "I prayed for enough physical ability to play with my kids. If I get back my ability to train, that will be icing on the cake."

"We really don't know what Greg's recovery will be like. But nothing would surprise me," says Dr. Colgan. "He's a very determined man, and he never gave up hope. People with aggressive lymphomas need to know that there is reason to be hopeful. These cancers can be cured."