Hi SPaul

I don't have experience with this happening in OC but do with HIV and hepatitis. The mechanism might be similar.

In HIV, the immune system has been seriously damaged by the HIV (for us it's the chemo and maybe the cancer too) and the symptoms of hepatitis don't appear. When the immune system recovers through drug treatment, the signs of hepatitis come back. The doctors call this Immune Reconstitution Syndrome.

The way I see it is this(and this is the world according to KLo so not necessarily medically correct): the immune system prioritises and shelves one disease for later when it is strong enough to fight on two fronts. Once the immune system has recovered a bit, it goes after the second disease. It is the battle between the disease and our own body that we see and feel and call symptoms.

As an aside to the arthritis observations: My friend who underwent chemo for another type of cancer, told me last week that her doctor told her that post cancer and chemo, the immune system is permanently altered and immune mediated diseases (like arthritis) might appear. I find it fascinating that HBO might help - have to tell Alex that ...