Ice hockey | Pentti Matikainen, who suffered from brain cancer, talks about his recovery – “Luckily, there are friends”

Cancer ailing coach legend Pentti Matikainen there has been a gratifying change in health.

“The whole time has been going in a better and better direction,” he says.

74-year-old Matikainen was diagnosed with brain lymphoma last February.

Matikainen, who is known as the former head coach of the Lions, was the first to tell about the illness MTV. My lion time went through six hospital periods and was bedridden for half a year.

According to Duodecim magazine brain lymphoma is a rare cancer, but it is becoming more common among people over the age of 65. The treatment of brain lymphoma is demanding, but nowadays some patients can be cured permanently. The disease is often treated with chemotherapy.

Matikainen describes the hospital treatments as tough. He was always in the hospital for four days at a time.

“Now the medication is taken orally. The control is constant.”

Matikainen will soon be able to undergo magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. He also regularly undergoes laboratory tests.

“The results of the laboratory tests support that we have gone in the right direction,” he says.

Matikainen, who lives the life of a pensioner in his home in Helsinki, says that his physical condition has deteriorated as a bedridden patient. Now it’s time to go out.

“I try to exercise and run every day, even though I can’t do very long runs now. There is no shortcut. You have to be satisfied if this kind of condition is maintained,” says Matikainen.

“My range of motion is quite small.”

Getting sick because of this, Matikainen lost his driver’s license.

“Fortunately, there are friends who have been willing to help,” he says gratefully.

“Today (Friday) we were Rindell’s Harry with in traffic. We went to change Harri’s winter tires. We also went to the ice rink in Helsinki to meet the IFK people”, Carlsson’s Rollea and others.

Matikainen worked as CEO of HIFK in 2001–2008.