Rest in Peace Panos Pappas

I am very sad to pass this news along. Our dear friend Panos (Panagiotis) Pappas (Baal in thalpal) has lost his battle with cancer. Panos was a good friend who taught me so much about how people deal with thal. His kindness and sense of humor will never be forgotten. I hope many patients realize how much that Panos taught me has in turn benefited them.

Rest in peace dear Panos. You have earned it.

 

Rest in peace Panos....I am so sad  It's a terrible loss for all of us..

I'm so sorry Andy, I know that he was a very good friend of yours.

Sharmin

This is so sad to hear. My heart is filled with grief and don't know what to say...

Panos has cancer and not thalassemia? Or both?

I recently saw a post by him and it's so sad to see than before two months, he was with us and now no more.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Panos had thal and developed liver cancer in the past year. This is becoming too common in older thals who also have hepatitis C. Panos had fought hypersplenism and won. But that caused his ferritin to rise to over 13,000. His unique combinations of chelators and the success he had using them to get his ferritin below 1000 were a testament to his ingenuity and commitment to staying alive. He taught me so much about surviving the worst of thal, but he could not beat cancer.

For thals with Hep C, I strongly recommend ongoing use of herbs like nigella, milk thistle and red clover. I also have to say, keep your iron down as low as you can. Iron feeds cancer. Panos was not at fault. At one point, he was transfusing every few days because his spleen was destroying the blood as soon as it was transfused. His iron level was due to this period of hyper-transfusion.

I also want to add a bit of info about Panos. Panos was a fussball (table soccer) champion and he was quite proud of his ability at this game. He was a great guy who was always ready to help his fellow thals with good advice. I'm really going to miss him.

I am so saddened to hear this....Panos seemed never to feel sorry for himself, he seemed always positive...even by a few words,
some peoples goodness shines through...like they are radiating blissful rays through the computer screen...I feel Panos was one of them.   

I have just read it, I am so sorry for Panos. We had some telephone contacts during the past years and I happened to have known him a little more. He was a fighter. Were it not for cancer, he would have done it well. I feel so sorry for him and his family.  R.I.P


I would like to add some valuable info I heard in a conference we had here in Athens on thalassaemia.
I was greatly impressed to hear  the hepatologists say that liver cancer is due not only  to past hepatitis but also  to liver iron and age-growth (talking about older patients.) That shows that we must never abort our chelation therapy, even when our ferritin level is lower.

You are correct Lena.

And I think a regular practice to consume turmeric every twice or thrice a week should be adopted, which I have recently started (taking turmeric + honey). Turmeric has been know for helping with liver problems immensely.

I would like to add some valuable info I heard in a conference we had here in Athens on thalassaemia.
I was greatly impressed to hear  the hepatologists say that liver cancer is due not only  to past hepatitis but also  to liver iron and age-growth (talking about older patients.) That shows that we must never abort our chelation therapy, even when our ferritin level is lower.

Dr. Vichinsky is very adamant about this as well.  He feels that regardless of how low iron levels are - chelation should not be stopped.  If iron levels are low then chelation should be decreased to minute levels - however there must be a chelator on board at all times to bind free iron and to protect the organs.  The less iron that accumulates in the liver the better.

Panos worked very hard and fought a great battle.  Even after discovering the devastating news his first inclination was to warn everyone else.  When we fight this battle it's not just for ourselves.  Although we must fight for ourselves and our loved ones, it is also our duty to protect others as we slowly glean new information.  When we do something right  or when we make a mistake we have an opportunity to protect others.

I am sad for the unfortunate death of our friend.

I am so sad to hear this.....Rest in peace Panos....

I am so sorry to hear about Panos. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends . May he rest in peace.
Zahra

This is such terrible news - rest in peace, Panos aka Baal. 


It is such a load of crap  - we manage our thal and our iron levels, and then something else comes and gets us. Losing Baal, for me,  is like revisiting the death of Ashish. While I did not know him that well or face to face, I could feel a real "connect" with him on this board.


He never played the victim card despite all his troubles, and always had a humourous take on his issues. And, he lifted others up when they were depressed. We will miss you, Baal.


Hopefully, you are now playing Foosball, without the pain, wherever you are ....


Salut.

R.I.P PANOS.

WE MISS U (

You saw a way to fight Thal.

By Courage, Humor, Combo of all the chelators.

Happy b'day Panos. You'll be never forgotten. Today would've been your 47th b'day, in fact, it is.

Good people never die, their deeds and works continues to pay off and help generations to come.

Have a nice one (in heaven).

-P.

I really miss you Panos. RIP my friend.