Healing Through Art
- Legendary house DJ Michael Bibi, 34, says he’s healing with music after beating a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma called central nervous system lymphoma.
- He was diagnosis in June 2023, underwent treatment at Royal Marsden Hospital, and revealed he was cancer-free after a “pretty intense” recovery journey that year. Now he’s set to go out on his new world tour and continue to do what he loves, something he’s said has been a “very healing process.”
- Creating and listening to music, or engaging in any other form of art or creation, can be a powerful tool when coping with cancer or other health struggles.
- Research has shown that just listening to music can reduce anxiety and produce other positive effects on mental health.
The London-based artist first announced his diagnosis last June, underwent treatment at Royal Marsden Hospital, and announced he was cancer-free later that year.
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As for how Bibi feels getting back to normalcy after his cancer battle, he told Billboard, “I am still very much in recovery. I’m only doing a very, very, very, very limited number of shows and making sure they are the best that they can possibly be.”
Bibi pointed out how he’s feeling somewhat nervous for his upcoming shows as he hasn’t been playing much while recovering from cancer.
He explained, “So there are some nerves there. So I’ve been preparing for that, just messing around at a little studio at home. Actually, even just preparing for [the show] has been quite a healing process.
“It’s been a very healing process actually, just going through old tracks, new tracks … particularly old tracks because they just have so many memories for me, different tracks and different locations and stuff. It’s been very healing. And emotional.”
In regard to how his cancer journey changed him, he said he’s still going to be moving forward with his tour, but he’s “never going to be touring as heavily as” he did in the past.
“And I just want more of a balance in my life. But no, music is just part of me. I don’t think I could live without music,” he added.
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Bibi also admitted that “acceptance” helped him get through his cancer journey, saying, “You can make the best plan in the world, but it will never pan out how you planned.
“So now, I’m just kind of living each moment, I guess you could say. Just living each day as it comes right now. Today right here, I’m alive. I’m sitting in sunshine. I feel good. So that’s about it. That’s all I need at the moment.”
He concluded, “The truth is I care a lot less about the whole — you know, I remember that conversation, talking about the success and the pandemic and the hard work. Now I just care about being healthy.”
Learn to Accept Yourself — A Huge Part of Living with Cancer
Bibi said that the tinnitus [ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears] he was suffering from kept worsening, which ultimately led to his diagnosis, which he feels “lucky” to have gotten. He recalled his doctor’s calling his cancer discovery a “coincidence.”
Overall, Bibi had an incredibly amount of “love and support” from his loved ones and fans, something he described as “quite overwhelming” and “beautiful.”
He also explained that he didn’t spend much time on his phone when he was receiving an immense amount of support from everyone, saying, “I just had to concentrate on getting through the treatment. It was pretty intense.”
Overall, Bibi is feeling so “blessed” to be alive and he recently celebrated his 34th birthday.
“Thank you to every person that gave me the love&support to fight, to be here today & to keep pushing. I will forever be in your debt,” he captioned his most recent Instagram post, featuring Bibi cutting his birthday cake.
We’re delighted to see how far Bibi has come since he announced his was “cancer-free” back in December.
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How Turning to Music Can Help Cancer Patients
Creating, listening, and even performing music can be a powerful tool. Most people have felt the positive effects of a musical experience, like DJ Michael Bibi, but fewer people know there is actually science to back it up.
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Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “Just listening to music activates more brain regions simultaneously than any other human activity.”
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A study published last year in the journal Parkinson’s Disease researched the effects music had on the brain. It found music can help reduce anxiety for patients. Dr. Serap Bastepe-Gray, who co-founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine with Dr. Pantelyat, led the study.
“The guitar, which is portable, affordable, and one of the most popular instruments in the U.S., has potential as a motivational therapeutic tool both in the clinical and community settings,” Dr. Bastepe-Gray said.
Music therapy is a resource cancer patients turn to during treatment. Music therapy includes “creating, singing, moving, listening and/or relaxing” to the sounds of your favorite songs according to the National Cancer Institute.
This form of therapy can help relieve depression, stress, anxiety, and pain.
Pancreatic cancer survivor Joel Naftelberg can also attest to the power of music, as he found the support he needed from his music family.
Cancer Survivor Joel Naftelberg Learned to Dance on His Problems
“The people that were my heroes in entertainment and rock and roll have been my friends and have been some of the most supportive people that I’ve had in my life,” he told SurvivorNet.
Naftelberg describes his cancer as a “monster.” It’s “attacked every facet of [his] life,” but that doesn’t mean he’s let it get the best of him. Music has been his saving grace.
“I have found music and rock and roll to be transformational,” he said. “Doesn’t necessarily solve anything, but it does let us dance on our problems for at least an hour or two.
“Nothing better on a Friday afternoon than to hang with your friends and listen to beautiful music.”
Focusing on something you love is an important way to build resilience in the face of coping with cancer and chronic disease, psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman previously told SurvivorNet. She explained what she calls the “three wellsprings of vitality,” which are connecting with others, contributing to the lives of others, and challenging yourself to continue growing.
“Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Understanding Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Lymphomas are cancers of the immune system. They start in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels, ducts, and nodes that transport immune cells and carry away waste fluid throughout your body. Lymphoma starts when lymphocytes — or white blood cells — develop a genetic mutation that makes them multiply much faster than usual.
There are about 40 different types of lymphomas, Dr. Elise Chong – a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine – explains.
Various types of lymphomas exists, but non-Hodgkin lymphomas are much more common than Hodgkin lymphomas. There are several differences between these categories (and several different types of diseases within them as well). Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most comma type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The disease is typically diagnosed in people over age 55, while Hodgkin lymphoma is often seen in younger patients. Another difference is that non-Hodgkin lymphoma can form in lymph nodes all over your body. Hodgkin lymphoma is usually only in nodes of your upper body, such as your neck, chest, or armpits.
The only way to confirm whether you have lymphoma is with a biopsy. Your doctor will remove a piece of tissue from a lymph node, or the entire node. Then, a specially trained doctor called a pathologist examines the sample in a laboratory to see whether it contains lymphoma cells, and if so, which type of lymphoma it is.
Once the type of lymphoma is determined, your doctor may order a series of imaging tests to determine how to go about treatment.
Dr. Jakub Svoboda, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, explains how PET/CT scans are used, and what to expect.
Oftentimes a doctor will order a PET/CT scan, which combines PET (positron emission tomography) with CT (computed tomography) to get a complete picture of how far your disease has progressed.
The advantage to a PET/CT scan is that your doctor will not only be able to see your organs and tissues, for example whether your spleen or lymph nodes are enlarged, but also areas of cancer.
Cancer cells are hungrier than healthy cells so they gobble up glucose and light up on the scan.
A radiologist or other nuclear medicine specialist will read your scan and send a report to your doctor. Once your results are in, ask your doctor what they mean, how your treatment might change, and what outlook you can expect.
What is Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma?
DJ Michael Bibi battled central nervous system lymphoma (CNL), which the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society describes as “a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which malignant (cancer) cells from lymph tissue form in the brain and/or spinal cord (primary CNS) or spread from other parts of the body to the brain and/or spinal cord (secondary CNS).”
The organization also notes that due to the eye’s proximity to the brain, this type of cancer can also develop in the eye, which is called ocular lymphoma. This type of cancer can also involve spinal fluid around the the spinal cord and brain, called leptomeningeal lymphoma.
“Both primary and secondary CNS lymphomas are rare diseases. The cancer is a form of extranodal, high-grade non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma,” the society explains.
“Most forms of CNS lymphoma (about 90 percent) are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas; the remaining ten percent are poorly characterized low-grade lymphomas, Burkitt lymphomas and T-cell lymphomas.”
Although the specific causes of CNS lymphoma are unknown, several factors may raise one’s risk for developing the disease — like having a compromised immune system or other disorders involving the immune system.
Symptoms ultimately depend on where the tumor is located and can include:
- Seizures
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Leg and arm weakness
- Facial weakness
- Double or blurry vision
- Hearing loss
“Treatment of CNS lymphoma is most effective when the tumor has not spread outside the cerebrum (the largest part of the brain) and the patient is under age 60, able to maintain daily functions and does not have AIDS or other diseases that weaken the immune system,” according to the organization.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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