Merel doesn’t immediately assume the worst if he suddenly can’t see anything in his right eye in 2021. However, she decided to go to the doctor’s office just to be sure. “The GP didn’t believe it and consulted a neurologist. He is immediately honest. He said that my symptoms and circumstances could indicate the early stages of MS, a brain disorder. I had to have an MRI scan.

Cancer

Because of Merle’s background in pediatrics, she did scans before the neurologist said she didn’t have MS, but a brain tumor. ‘Fortunately’ the tumor is in an easily operable location. But because of the melanoma that was removed seven years ago, the neurologist suspected it was a metastasis. “I had a CT scan the same day. I was diagnosed with five metastases. I had cancer not only in my head but also in my stomach and lungs. All these years after the moles were removed as a precaution, the malignant cell still remained.

I will decide when I die, I won’t need a doctor to tell me.

“The neurologist used all kinds of complicated words to explain my situation. I knew immediately what it meant: I was not going to get better. I was suffering from a very aggressive form of melanoma cancer, already in the fourth stage. My boyfriend was very shocked, but I was fighting. I knew when I was going to die. Decided, I didn’t need a doctor to tell me that. It was awful, but I never felt like I was going to die. Four weeks later, I now have no more than forty tumors in my body.

Alternative therapy

It soon turns out that Merel is allergic to immunotherapy and various antibiotics. She gets meningitis and inflamed organs. “At one point, there were very few conventional treatment options. The doctors wanted to wait three months so my body could recover for the next option. But my tumors grew so fast that I didn’t want to wait. I did a lot of research on alternative treatments. For weeks I searched scientific studies, databases and immersed myself in the experiences of fellow sufferers. Eventually I found a treatment that I wanted to try: an RSO course. This treatment consists of various components of the cannabis plant. I spoke to many people who found it very helpful. When I told my doctors that I had started the RSO cycle, they immediately told me to stop. The treatment Being unrecognized, they didn’t want to know anything about it. Still, I decided to persevere because what did I have to lose?

I threw my bucket list overboard. I like to enjoy the little things in life now.

“The inflammation in my body disappeared and I felt much better. At first I was skeptical, but when the next scan showed that the tumors had stopped growing, I knew: this treatment helps! The doctors didn’t know I had been going like this for so long. They gave me one last treatment option: genetics. Blockers. The combination of gene blockers and RSO therapy worked. I went from over forty tumors to one. My cure felt so close!

Last option

Because of the costs, Merel decides to lower the dose of the transplant so she can take it longer. She regrets it, because after three months the metastases have grown back. “Unfortunately, a high dose of RSO treatment is necessary. I don’t want to encourage anyone to put alternative therapies over usual care. I wanted to use only usual care, but that wasn’t an option because of my allergies. If I had listened to my doctor and stopped the RSO course, I would be gone already.

“Of course I’m sad sometimes because of my situation. Having cancer is very lonely. No one can really understand what it is; Not even my friend. I have now thrown my bucket list overboard. I like to enjoy the little things in life now. Give me a blooming daffodil or a good time with friends and family. I don’t want to be dying all day. Others may have already given up on me, but I fight not to die!

With his current financial resources, Meral can no longer afford a last chance for survival after April. That is why he started the donation campaign. If you want to support Merel, you can do so https://www.doneeractie.nl/genezing-in-zicht/-66741