Watch the Winter Olympics and talk about health | He is a Winter Olympics gold medalist, Su Yiming's idol and rival, and also a cancer fighter

On February 15, in the men's snowboard big air final of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese teenager Su Yiming won the championship and won the sixth gold medal for the Chinese team in this Winter Olympics, creating the best result in history! This time, Su Yiming finally defeated his old rival and idol, Canadian athlete Max Parrott, who won the gold medal in the men's snowboard slopestyle competition, while Max Parrott won the bronze medal in this event. While we cheer for Su Yiming, we also want to congratulate this 27-year-old skiing star, because for him, who was unfortunately diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2018, being able to stand on the ski slope again is already a miracle.

Max Parrott, born in 1994, started skiing at the age of 3, emerged at the age of 17, and won the silver medal in the snowboard slopestyle event at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018. However, not long after, he was unfortunately diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. In the following 6 months, he underwent 12 chemotherapy sessions.

With an optimistic spirit, active treatment, and harder training, at the end of 2019, he finally returned to his favorite ski resort and won the gold medal in the World Extreme Sports Championship.

On February 7, at this Winter Olympics, he defeated Su Yiming and won the gold medal in the men's snowboard slopestyle event. The hero was reborn from the ashes and returned strongly.

What is the Hodgkin's lymphoma that Max Parrot suffers from? Is it really curable?

“Cureable Tumors”

The lymphatic system is distributed throughout the human body and can produce lymphocytes to resist the invasion of foreign bacteria and viruses. It is an important immune defense barrier of the human body. However, when these "guard soldiers" are attacked by various factors, they may become "melanized", that is, they grow uncontrollably and then develop into lymphoma.

Lymphoma is mainly divided into two categories: Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The former accounts for about 10% of all lymphomas.

The cure rate of Hodgkin's lymphoma is very high. After standardized diagnosis and treatment, most patients can be cured or survive for a long time. According to the 2021 "Guidelines for the Treatment of Lymphoma in China", about 90% of early-stage and 50% of late-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma patients can be cured after receiving standardized treatment. Therefore, lymphoma is also called a "curable tumor" by the World Health Organization.

Don't ignore these symptoms

Lymph node enlargement is a common clinical manifestation of lymphoma patients, especially cervical lymph node enlargement, which is painless. Other symptoms include fever (above 38°C for more than 3 days), night sweats (increased night sweats, soaking the bed sheets), weight loss (unexplained weight loss of 10% in 6 months), persistent skin itching, indigestion, abdominal pain and limb weakness. If these suspected symptoms occur, you should be vigilant and go to the hematology department or lymphoma specialist clinic for consultation and treatment as soon as possible.

Especially those who are under great work pressure, often stay up late, are in a state of excessive fatigue for a long time, are often in an environment of electronic radiation or rays, often use inferior hair dyes and come into contact with benzene or organic solvents are all high-risk groups and should be more vigilant.

Scientific and standardized diagnosis and treatment

Pathological examination is the gold standard for diagnosing lymphoma. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, doctors will give comprehensive treatment according to the classification, stage and malignancy of lymphoma, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and emerging treatment methods such as biological therapy, targeted therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Among them, immunochemotherapy (combination of monoclonal antibodies and chemotherapy) is the main treatment method at present.

It should be noted that the treatment of lymphoma is long-term. Even after the disease is relieved by standardized treatment, self-management outside the hospital is still needed:

1. Take medicine on time as prescribed by the doctor, and have regular checkups and follow-up visits;

2. Develop good living habits, quit smoking and drinking, and stay away from carcinogens;

3. Eat a balanced diet;

4. Be optimistic and increase your confidence in overcoming the disease;

5. Exercise moderately, maintain a regular schedule, and don’t stay up late.

After winning the gold medal, Max Parrott said in an interview: "Three years ago, I was still lying in bed, without vitality, muscle atrophy, and unable to do aerobic exercise. That was the most difficult moment in my life. Today, three years later, I returned to the Olympic arena with passion, and achieved my best results ever, becoming an Olympic champion - this is crazy."

I believe that Max Parrot’s experience will bring encouragement and hope to every cancer patient, and encourage them to strengthen their confidence and never give up. I hope everyone can defeat the disease and win their own victory!

Author: Zhang Wei, Chief Pharmacist of Shanxi Yangmei Group General Hospital

Review expert: Ren Jianye, chief pharmacist of Shanxi Yangmei Group General Hospital

Liu Guiyang, Chief Pharmacist of the Pharmacy and Pharmacology Department of the Fourth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital