Uwe Herrmann (63) is cautiously looking ahead after months of uncertainty. The bridal fashion specialist, known from the VOX documentary "Zwischen Tüll und Tränen", is "virtually cancer-free" according to his doctors. However, his illness is not yet completely over. In an interview with "Bunte.de" the Dresden native now talks about the weeks since his diagnosis and the treatments that still lie ahead.
It all began in February with a small bump above his right elbow. What looked harmless turned out to be Merkel cell carcinoma - a rare, particularly aggressive form of skin cancer that spreads quickly and forms metastases. Because the tumor was detected early, the doctors were able to act quickly. However, a first surgery in a Dresden hospital was followed by the next setback: a metastasis was found in a lymph node.
The cameras were rolling even in the hospital bed
Herrmann allowed himself to be accompanied by cameras for "Zwischen Tüll und Tränen" even at the hospital ward and struggled with tears. He only realized how much the news about the metastasis had affected him when he watched the broadcast. "I had thought in the hospital that I stayed cool when I was diagnosed with the metastasis. But in the broadcast, you could see: I wasn't cool. The man I saw lying there in the hospital on TV, I wouldn't have thought that was me. You reflect on yourself completely differently. Self-deception is great in such situations to protect yourself", he now describes.
A second, multi-hour surgery followed. Twelve more lymph nodes were removed, and the large wound on his arm was closed by a plastic surgeon using a skin graft. Then came the relief: apart from the first micrometastasis, the doctors found no further spread. "The chief physician told me, 'You are now virtually cancer-free'. He sees such cases maybe two, three times a year", Herrmann emphasizes.
Radiation and possibly immunotherapy
However, the treatment is not over yet. "I still have to undergo radiation. And immunotherapy might be done, I need another opinion on that", the bridal fashion specialist explains. He immediately provides the reason: "With radiation, the doctors want to make sure that no micrometastasis has settled somewhere. They say the recurrence, meaning the probability that the cancer will return, is very, very high with Merkel cell carcinoma. That's why the radiation."
In the future, Herrmann will have a checkup every three months, and his blood values will be checked once a month. Already in the special episode of "Zwischen Tüll und Tränen", his surgeon had made it clear that the cancer "could come back". "You will always remain a cancer patient and you have to learn as a patient to deal with this, let's say, sword of Damocles", the doctor said.
Will renewed, business handed over to son
How serious the situation was is evident from the precautions the 63-year-old took immediately after the diagnosis: He renewed his will and transferred his Dresden bridal fashion store "Weißes Gewölbe" to his son Philipp. "Something could have gone wrong during general anesthesia. I also have a stent in my heart. It's unique to be in a situation where you know you might not wake up again", recalls the grandfather of one grandchild.
