Mistook It for Flu and Found Out She Had Stage 4 Lymphoma

Gülnur Beycioğlu, a 58-year-old living in Istanbul, caught severe flu in January and then developed a swelling in her abdomen. After examinations, Beycioğlu, whose abdominal swelling has continued although her flu has healed, has been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. Beycioğlu has regained her health through a transplant performed by taking her own stem cells (autologous) after the chemotherapy process.

Gülnur Beycioğlu (58), who lives in Istanbul and is a mother of two children, contracted flu last January. While her illness continued, Beycioğlu developed a swelling in her abdomen and went to the doctor. Some treatments were initiated for the woman, who was initially thought to have bleeding in the kidney and diagnosed with vasculitis. Stage 4 lymphatic diagnosis was made at the biopsy performed on the patient who applied to the hematology department upon the mass, which had shrunk for a while, grew again. After some time had passed since the clearing of the tumor through chemotherapy, the disease recurred in her brain. After treatment with smart drugs that can penetrate the brain, the tumor was also cleared from the brain. Subsequently, an autologous transplant was performed using her own stem cell to completely eliminate the lymphoma and prevent the disease from recurring again.

“I Want To Be Like a Bird And Fly”

Having regained her health through high-dose chemotherapies administered after the transplant, Gülnur Beycioğlu said, “When the cancer was diagnosed, it was at the fourth stage. My treatment went well, and I felt better after the transplant. I have begun to get better every day. May people who suffer from this disease are not afraid at all. Because somehow you succeed. I was born again at the age of 58. Now I want to do everything. I have been sitting for 1.5 years. But now I want to be like a bird and fly. I can say that I was born again. I feel very good. When I wake up in the morning, I feel very happy now.”

“It Was a Difficult Process, But We Got Over It”

Stating that they had a difficult process as a family, Gülnur Beycioğlu's wife Muammer Beycioğlu said, "It was a difficult process, but finished with a happy ending. Everything is fine, and it's getting better. Our treatments are continuing. It will continue for a while; hopefully, we will get comfort at the end Our daughter and son have become our supporters. We have seen the support of even our neighbors and relatives. Thanks to them, my wife has been connected to life again. Now we can say that we have succeeded. We are well, and we will even get better.”

Pay Attention to Dry Cough and Shortness of Breath

Drawing attention to the fact that the occurrence of tumors with a tennis ball-sized mass in both kidneys at the same time is an unusual condition, Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital Internal Diseases and Hematology Specialist said the following about Gülnur Beycioğlu's disease:
“Our patient came to us with abdominal tightness and pain after a flu infection. At first, the condition had been thought to be bleeding in the kidney, and treatments had been planned accordingly. However, the family applied to us upon the growth of the mass again with the reduction of the doses of medications. After our examinations, we thought the mass was a lymph node and suspected a tumor. After the biopsy, we diagnosed our patient with stage 4 lymphatic cancer. We cleared the lymphoma through chemotherapies. However, after some time had passed since the clearing of the tumor through chemotherapy, the disease recurred in her brain. After treatment with smart drugs that can penetrate the brain, the tumor was also cleared from the brain. We had to apply a somewhat stronger treatment for the disease does not recur. We collected the person's own stem cells. Again, we treated the patient by performing an autologous stem cell transplant along with high-dose chemotherapy that can penetrate the brain. Lymphatic cancer, which is mostly observed in the form of nodes under the neck and armpit, can progress with growths in the lymph nodes in areas the patient themself cannot reach. Patients need to take into account signs such as involuntary weight loss, night sweats, dry cough, and shortness of breath.”

"It May Not be Observed in the Blood Test”

Explaining that lymph cancer may not appear in the blood test, Yeditepe University Hospital Internal Medicine and Hematology Specialist said, “If the disease has not metastasized to the bone marrow and has not affected this area intensively, nothing may appear in the blood test. In the blood count, the picture may be completely normal. For this reason, especially unexplained night sweats, involuntary weight loss, high fever accompanied by shivers and reaching up to 38 degrees once or twice a week, loss of appetite, and sleep problems can be considered clues to lymph cancer.”

“The Recovery Time of the Disease Has Been Reduced by Half”

Finally, explaining that dependence on foreign donors has decreased, our specialist said, “We can meet the needs of half of our patients from Türkiye thanks to the National Bone Marrow Bank (TÜRKÖK). This speeds up the process a lot. In previous years, the disease could progress while the patient was waiting for bone marrow. However, thanks to TÜRKÖK, the recovery time of the disease has been reduced by half.”

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