Has anyone decided not to do Rituxin maintenance?

Ritux
Jer,

Rituxan is a common maintenance therapy. It is also one of the least toxic drugs perscribed for lymphoma. I have read where numerous people here are on it for either maintenance or as a first-line therapy. Compared to some of the severely harsh combination therapies that are given, Rituxan by itself is (usuallY) very mild. Some people are allergic, however. If you have already been receiving it for some time with no problems, however, you are obviously not allergic to it.

"Weakening the system" does not jump to mind as one of the side-effects of Rituxan anyway. It does not ordinarily cause any reduction in WBC. I do not know in what sense you believe it will "weaken" you, therefore. The most common side-effect is a flu-like pain and sometimes fever.

I would beg for the drug myself. Bless your decision. I am sure numerous folks will submit, since Rituxan given alone is, as I mentioned, a very common thing.

max

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didn't do it
Hi Jerilynn, I had non hogkins B cell lymphoma, at first my oncologist was going to put me on maintance Rituxin, then she decided against it. She felt the benefits with B cell were not worth it.... I also had bone involvement ..... it's a tough call Good luck ...Vinny

Rituxan
Hi jerilynn,
I had Rituxan in my first line chemo regimen..(CVP-R-6 rounds)...and did just fine. After finishing my chemo in Dec of 2010 my onc started me on the 2 year R maint in February 2011. I'll finish my R maint in Feb 2013(3 rounds left) and so far I have not had any major issues to speak of. I get blood work done every other month and as of date, my counts have always come back good. I was very fortunate throuhout chemo and my maint R in not getting sick even once. No colds, flu, or anything. I get the flu shot every year also. I did extensive research on Rituxan and though it does have some scary side effects attached to it, as per R label literature , I personally have not experienced any. As Max said, there is a bit of acheyness with taking it,(mild flu like symptoms),mild fatigue after each round, etc, but there's absolutely nothing thats not totally do-able.It is in no way similar to first line chemo, thats for sure. If you use common sense precautions...washing hands...keeping away from sick people, etc, I really feel the benefits of Rituxan out weigh the risks. We have quite a few members taking Rituxan for maint, so hopefully they will join in and share their experience. My infusions take about 3 hours to complete, so thats not a huge amount of time to deal with. My first Rituxan with chemo took 7 1/2 to 8 hours to complete, but they do the drip slowly while watching for any re-action...after that, if no bad re-actions, they will slowly increase the drip flow during the infusion. I wish you the best in your decision and hope this information has helped a little. Much love...Sue
(Follicular NHL-stage3-grade2-typeA-Dx 6/10-age 61)

COBRA666 said:

No R problems here !!
I have never had any problems with R.Started with R-CVP June 2010. Had 2 year maintenance with last one coming this Friday. You will feel sleepy if you decide to go with the maintenance because of the benedryl,but that is usually worn off by the next day somewhat. Its up to you,but I would not avoid taking it. All medicines can have some side effects The good far out weigh the bad with this one. John

No R problems for me either!!
I've been on the R maintenance, following Bendamustine/R chemo ended Dec. 2011.

Like many on this board have reported. I have little side effect. There are not problems with blood counts, like there is with chemo. My infusions now with the pre-meds take about 3 hours, once the IV is started. For the blessing of continued remission and prolonging it, I think it is worth taking. Only side effects, as mentioned by others, drowsy from the benedryl on the day of infusion; occasionally mild achy muscles---

I definitely agree the benefits far outweigh the risks; as known today anyway. susan