--- title: Diagnosed with NK/T-Cell Lymphoma in His Sophomore Year; Three and a Half Years After Transplant, He Has Graduated, Found Love, and Embraced Life Again url: "https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/stories/nkt-cell-lymphoma-allogeneic-transplant-survivor-story" type: Article inLanguage: en-US disease: Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma treatment: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation datePublished: 2026-07-17 --- # Diagnosed with NK/T-Cell Lymphoma in His Sophomore Year; Three and a Half Years After Transplant, He Has Graduated, Found Love, and Embraced Life Again > Diagnosed with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma during his sophomore year, Xiao Hao endured multiple treatment challenges before undergoing an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Three and a half years later, he has returned to campus and begun a new chapter of life. Summary: Xiao Hao (pseudonym) was diagnosed with high-risk stage IVB extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma during his sophomore year after experiencing recurrent fevers and persistent nasal symptoms. His treatment journey was complicated by pneumonia and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), and he traveled across China in search of further treatment. In late 2022, he underwent an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor at Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital, and his condition gradually stabilized. Now, three and a half years after transplant, Xiao Hao has not only completed his university degree but also found love and returned to the everyday life of a young adult. Looking back, he hopes his experience can remind other patients that as long as they keep going, life can still open up new possibilities. It is graduation season again. Across campuses, young graduates pose for photos, hug their friends goodbye, and look ahead to whatever comes next. For 24-year-old university student Xiao Hao (pseudonym), however, this summer arrived two years later than expected. In December 2021, while still a sophomore, Xiao Hao was diagnosed with high-risk stage IVB extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma. During treatment, he also developed pneumonia and an episode of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). From Yunnan to Beijing, he moved between several hospitals and underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted treatment. In late 2022, he received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant from a 10/10 HLA-matched unrelated donor at Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital. Now, three and a half years after transplant, his follow-up results remain normal. In the summer of 2026, he stood on campus in his graduation gown, with warm sunshine overhead, his partner of more than three years beside him, and a future full of possibilities ahead. ![85ab0572-7b0b-4cba-9ad7-57cae6a96485.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260913/839e5f6a34f9957f02fd0dd74b870519_20260913080711.png "839e5f6a34f9957f02fd0dd74b870519_20260913080711.png")  **An Overlooked Warning Sign: From “Rhinitis” to Advanced Lymphoma** In December 2021, I was a sophomore studying in Tianjin. My nose had been blocked for a while, and I assumed it was the same old rhinitis I had dealt with before. I thought I could just wait it out. But then I started losing weight, and a large ulcer developed on the roof of my mouth and throat. Medication did nothing. My throat hurt so badly that I could barely swallow, I woke up at night with my clothes soaked in sweat, and eventually I developed a persistent high fever. It was during a period of strict campus restrictions, so I stayed in my dorm for four or five days, alternating cold medicine and fever reducers. Nothing worked. When I finally couldn't take it anymore and decided I needed to go to the hospital, I called my family. Because I had a fever, I was isolated in a quiet hospital room. Almost the entire floor was empty, and someone brought me two simple meals each day. At first I still thought it was just a bad cold. I even bought some fruit, thinking a few extra vitamins might help me recover faster. Then I had a laryngoscopy and nasal endoscopy. The doctors contacted my university, and the university contacted my parents. They traveled overnight from Yunnan to Tianjin. I was still confused at the time and thought everyone was making too much of it.  ![60a77fa4-83df-4305-a442-2d6bfd01da2e.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260913/a34411f99323c7dc74d5d9fe4542ad4c_20260913080734.png "a34411f99323c7dc74d5d9fe4542ad4c_20260913080734.png") The hospital then arranged a biopsy. A week later, the results came back. My parents didn't tell me anything; they simply completed the discharge paperwork and took me back to Kunming. I still didn't know exactly what I had. It wasn't until I was being treated at a hospital in Kunming and happened to see the word “tumor” that I suddenly understood. “Lymphoma.” When I finally learned the truth, I didn't fall apart. I felt down for a little while, but I've always handled pressure fairly well. And after my first round of chemotherapy, my throat stopped hurting and I could swallow again. Part of me even thought, “Maybe I'm getting better.” The first time I truly felt how close death could be, it came quietly. Medical resources in Kunming were limited and beds were tight. After one round of chemotherapy, I developed pneumonia. Because I was already very weak, it quickly triggered hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The illness progressed fast. The doctors told us I needed to get to Beijing immediately and warned that if we delayed, I might have only a month left. **Heading North as the Disease Worsened: Hitting Rock Bottom** As soon as the plane landed, my fever came back. I was taken to an observation room in the fever clinic. I still remember that night clearly—the sound of patients moaning around me went on hour after hour without stopping. I was admitted the next day, but not long afterward I had a seizure and fell into a coma for a week. By the time I woke up, Chinese New Year was approaching. My mom later told me that while I was unconscious, the doctors had told my family to prepare for the worst. I'm their only child, and hearing that nearly broke her. When I woke up, I was overwhelmed by a kind of weakness I had never experienced before. Once the HLH was under control, we decided to transfer again because the hospital I was in did not specialize in lymphoma. By then I was so weak that I could only get around in a wheelchair, and emotionally I had hit rock bottom. At the next hospital, the doctor was very straightforward: if the disease could not be controlled, I might have only about three months to live. When I walked out of the consultation room, I broke down completely for the first time. I told my parents I didn't want any more treatment. I didn't want to put them through more, and I didn't want them spending so much money on me. My dad said just one thing: “Whatever happens, we keep trying. We do everything we can.” That night, I called my closest friend back home and talked as if I were saying goodbye. I told him that if one day I really wasn't there anymore, I wanted him to help look after my parents. That was the darkest point of my entire treatment journey. Fortunately, I met two attending physicians who took my case extremely seriously. They went back through all of my medical records and developed a new plan. I first received two cycles of the GPED regimen. When a follow-up PET/CT showed that the lymphoma was still progressing, they switched me to a DEP-L regimen. My parents and I rented an apartment near the hospital. Those days felt like a blur, but one thing was always clear to me: wherever my parents were, that was home. Three months passed, and I was still here. My numbers didn't improve overnight, but little by little, the disease began to stabilize. The next step was preparing for transplant, which meant going to another hospital for radiotherapy. We moved again. Slowly, I began to come out of the mindset of “I don't want treatment anymore.” I followed the treatment plan each day and went for radiotherapy every evening without fail. At first, I barely noticed anything. Then one day, everything I ate felt like chewing paper—I had lost my sense of taste. Soon after, the lining of my mouth and nasal passages became badly damaged, and the tissue on the roof of my mouth ulcerated. Even taking a sip of water felt like swallowing a knife. I couldn't eat at all and had to rely on intravenous nutrition. The treatment came at a very real cost. Thankfully, a follow-up PET/CT showed that the disease had gone into remission. My doctors adjusted the plan again and treated me with the targeted and immunotherapy combination of brentuximab vedotin plus tislelizumab. After everything I had already been through, transplant was finally the next step. But then I hit another wall: because my case was so complex and the risks were so high, finding a transplant center willing to take me on was difficult. Some centers had never successfully transplanted a patient with a case like mine. It felt as though the hardship would never end, and the hope I had worked so hard to rebuild was crushed all over again. So when Boren finally confirmed that they could take my case, my first reaction wasn't excitement. It was relief: finally, someone was willing to take me through the next step. **The Transplant Unit, a New Beginning, and a Bowl of Salty Pumpkin Porridge** When I arrived at Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital, the transplant team led by Dr. Tong Wu carried out another comprehensive evaluation. The night before my PET/CT results were due, two pieces of necrotic tissue from the ulcerated area on the roof of my mouth came away on their own. I told my dad that maybe it was a good sign—the damaged tissue had fallen away so something new could grow. The next day, the results came back: the disease was in remission. Looking at that report, for the first time in a long while, I felt as if I could finally see the end of this road. After entering the transplant unit, I received BU/FLU conditioning. On October 11, 2022, I received stem cells from an unrelated donor who was a 10/10 HLA match. My blood type was B positive and the donor's was O positive. Neutrophil engraftment occurred on day +17 and platelet engraftment on day +15.  ![c52d99f5-303f-45fb-8518-1ab5f044ad5e.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260913/09d50a5ccee2a89b640abdfbbb10db24_20260913080834.png "09d50a5ccee2a89b640abdfbbb10db24_20260913080834.png") At one point in the transplant unit, I had abdominal pain so severe that it felt as if something inside me was twisting hard. The doctors and nurses responded immediately, gave me medication, and brought it under control quickly. My mom later told me, “If you hadn't had this transplant at Boren, you might not even have made it out of the transplant unit. And even if you had, you probably wouldn't be doing as well as you are now.” I knew what she meant. After I left the transplant unit, we rented an apartment near the hospital and stayed for another six months so I could return regularly for follow-up. One day, my mom made pumpkin porridge for me. She knew my sodium was low, so she added a little salt, hoping it might help. I took one spoonful—and it tasted salty. Suddenly every emotion I had been holding in came rushing out: hurt, exhaustion, anxiety. I had a huge argument with my mom and, like a child, finally let out everything I had kept bottled up for so long. In June 2023, my follow-up results were stable. With my doctors' approval, my parents took me back home to Yunnan to continue recovering. ![1ad8cad0-1354-4c24-93aa-bdf5003cd83d.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260913/41d4b09dd5a7d7430537a99c663149b3_20260913080933.png "41d4b09dd5a7d7430537a99c663149b3_20260913080933.png")   **Telling Her How I Felt Beneath the Tianjin Eye—and a Graduation Photo Two Years Late** While I was recovering, I also found love. My girlfriend and I had known each other since freshman year, and we stayed in touch after I became ill. Once, when she was feeling down and wanted to go to the seaside, I happened to be in Beijing for a follow-up appointment, so I went to Tianjin to see her. We talked for a long time, and beneath the Tianjin Eye, I finally told her how I felt. Day by day, my health improved. But after transplant, I still had to be extremely careful about food hygiene, and I couldn't eat food prepared outside. So on our early dates, she would eat while I sat beside her and talked with her. Then I would go home and eat whatever my mom had cooked. It was simple, but it made me feel safe and happy. We've now been together for three years, and this year I finally graduated from university. My classmates are looking for jobs and making plans for the future, and I'm thinking about those things too—but differently than I did before I got sick. Back then, I wanted to achieve something huge. Now what I want is much simpler: to live well, build a steady life, stay close to my parents, and take care of the people I love. That sense of stability means more to me than anything. People tell me I'm lucky, but I think my greatest blessing is having my mom and dad. In a novel I love, the main character tells his parents, “In my next life, I still want to be your son.” Every time I think of that line, it hits me deeply. It's not about feeling that I owe them something. I just know that being alive, healthy, and living my life well is the greatest reassurance I can give them. **Never Give Up on Life—Believe in the Power of Believing** I am still deeply grateful to the specialists and medical team at Boren. They are the reason I can live the life I have today. In patient support groups, when someone asks a question, I often share what I went through, especially when it comes to transplantation. I recommend Boren because, from my own experience, I believe its transplant program is highly experienced—and I am living proof of what that care made possible for me. The last thing I want to say to patients going through something similar is this: never give up on life. We are not fighting only for ourselves. There are people supporting us, and even if it is only a handful of people, they are reason enough to keep going. Believe in the power of believing. You have to believe something is possible before you can have a chance to reach it. It has now been three and a half years since my transplant, and all of my follow-up results are normal. Looking back, being healthy, being alive, and moving forward one day at a time—that is probably the best answer I can give. ## Expert view Case Commentary (Dr. Zhanxiang Liu, from the team led by Dr. Tong Wu and Dr. Yanzhi Song): Malignant tumors are often described as ruthless because when serious illness strikes, it does not take a person's age, plans, or circumstances into account. This case involves extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, an aggressive disease for which ideal chemotherapy options remain limited. Patients diagnosed at an earlier stage may have a better chance of achieving favorable outcomes with radiotherapy. Unfortunately, Xiao Hao was already at stage IV, the most advanced stage, when he was first diagnosed. His treatment course was equally difficult. At the most critical point, the lymphoma progressed together with an episode of HLH, placing his life at immediate risk. Fortunately, radiotherapy and salvage chemotherapy brought the lymphoma into remission. He was also able to find a suitably matched unrelated donor and, just as importantly, undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation within the narrow therapeutic window. The transplant was successful: he developed neither severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) nor lymphoma relapse afterward. The fundamental purpose of medicine is to treat disease and save lives. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a highly complex procedure, but it plays an irreplaceable role in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Xiao Hao's outcome was not simply a matter of luck; it reflects the efforts of the transplant team at Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital. It also embodies the team's goal: to treat difficult disease, restore health, and help patients return to their families and society. > This content is published with the authorization of the patient and their family, intended solely to share real experiences and health knowledge. It does not constitute a recommendation of any treatment plan or medical diagnostic advice. For specific treatment, please follow the guidance of a professional physician. --- Original (HTML):https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/stories/nkt-cell-lymphoma-allogeneic-transplant-survivor-story This is a clean Markdown mirror for large language models; the original page is authoritative.