I do credit Dr Maharaj with doing an excellent job of certainly improving my immune system, if not saving my life in the long term.

D.M. Health Journey 10/5/2022

In December of 2020 I contracted Covid 19.  While the initial disease was mild, no fever, didn’t lose taste or smell and only felt bad for 2 days, the long term effects were far more than I could have imagined.

In February of 2021, I called Dr Maharaj at the SF Bone Marrow & Stem Cell transplant Institute (where I had 270 million stem cells stored, which had been harvested in mid 2009), to ask him about unfreezing my stem cells and infusing them into me because I felt I had Long COVID (runny nose and post nasal drip) and was looking for a cure.

He informed me that he now had a way to measure the immune system and a way to boost it if necessary.  A few days later I had my blood drawn at the institute for the test.  I also had additional blood drawn for another test called blood Cancer Gene Test – a liquid biopsy. This test can tell you if you have Cancer anywhere in your body on a molecular level.

Ironically enough right after my blood was drawn I had blood in my urine.  I then went to a Urologist who did a variety of tests and after looking into my Bladder discovered I had early Bladder Cancer.  Probably due to a compromised immune system.

About the same time the results of the immune panel & the blood Cancer Gene Test were returned.  My immune system was about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 and the blood Cancer Gene Test showed I had Cancer (probably the Bladder Cancer).

The Urologist did a “Blue Light” hospital procedure to “scrap” the Cancer cells off the lining of my Bladder.  While doing that he discovered that I also had Prostate Cancer!

The Urologist started BCG treatments to kill the Cancer cells that were probably still left.  

Simultaneously Dr Maharaj began boosting my immune system.  After both treatments were completed, we did another immune panel (which showed my immune system was now at a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10).  Another blood Cancer Gene Test test showed the Bladder Cancer was gone but showed another Cancer (probably the Prostate Cancer).

Meanwhile I started radiation treatments to eliminate the Prostate Cancer (38 treatments over 2 months). 

We then did another immune panel and blood Cancer Gene Test.

Because the radiation had damaged my immune system it was back to a 3 again and the blood Cancer Gene Test showed the Prostate Cancer gone but 3 new Cancers. One was probably the new Bladder Cancer, however not sure what the other 2 were.

At this time my Urologist looked inside my Bladder and discovered another Bladder Cancer (probably caused by the radiation).  We then did another immune system boost, although it only caused my immune system to go up to a 4.5-5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

By now it was March of 2022.  Meanwhile I had 4 COVID vaccines – the first 2 in January/February of 2021 and then the booster vaccines in late 2021 and early 2022, which we later learned was partial responsible for my immune system being reduced to the low levels.

In January 2022 I did another series of BCG treatments for the Bladder Cancer.

In late April of 2022, Dr Maharaj and I decided to do 3 immune system boosts back to back, (to help with the side effects from an infection that I received from my last BCG treatment) and 18 infusions to help reduce inflammation and possibly eliminate my Long COVID.

When all of these treatments were completed in early July of 2022, we did another immune panel test.  To my surprise, I was now an 8-9 on a scale of 1 to 10!

At the end of August we did another blood Cancer Gene Test and to my surprise All 3 Cancers were gone!

We will be doing another immune system test in early October to see if my improved immune system is holding up. The original COVID disease did leave me with a fair amount of fatigue.  Of course all the treatments in 2021 & 2022 left me with even more fatigue.

Here in mid September a lot of my energy has returned, although some fatigue still lingers. Hopefully time will eliminate that, although I believe that I still have some Long COVID, which could account for some of the fatigue.

I often think what if; what if I had just done 2 immune system boosts back to back along with the infusions and then just let my improved immune system do its job of killing the Bladder Cancer & Prostate Cancer after I had the “Blue Light” procedure.

I would have spared myself the BCG treatments and the radiation treatments which have left me with some irritating side effects (hopefully not permanent).

In any event I do credit Dr Maharaj with doing an excellent job of certainly improving my immune system, if not saving my life in the long term (even though I was able to eliminate the Bladder Cancer and Prostate Cancer, it was only a matter of time before either or both came back as well as other Cancers, with a compromised immune system).

I’ve decided that going forward I’m planning on having an immune panel and a Guardant360 test done annually.

D.M.