NHL Follicular Stage III

Hang on !

Bluemanx,

Welcome to the Board from a fellow cat lover (and rescuer for many years)....

You gave a pretty good summation of what you have going on, but it would be helpful for you to list your pending chemo meds, approximate age, and general health.

For late-stage NHL I suspect you most likely are slated for CHOP, R-CHOP, or EPOCH, but there are other possibilities.  These were not my drugs, but most of the folks here have experience with them, since NHL is a lot more common than HL.

Lymphoma is very treatable, and although treatment can be rough, most side-effects end soon after treatment ends, and cure rates for Lymphoma are among the highest of any cancer, so you have much cause for hope and optimism,

max

 

.

unknown said:

Follicular NHL

I have stage IV follicular. My tumor burden was low but widespread, including bone marrow. I was able to get a full response with Rituxan only. Have good reason to think its is back so I may be doing chemo in the  near future. This is a very treatable condition. Lots of options. I wish for you and fully expect a long happy life. This is just a rough spot in the road.Good luck.

also Follicular NHL

I was told last Dec I had NHL. later told it was 4th stage, follicular. Had a fairly large tumor in the abdonmen. Had 1 treatment pf CHOP because insurance had not yet approved teh Rituxan. Then had 5 treatments of R-CHOP followed by a treatment of just Rituxan so I has 6 treatments of CHOP and 6 of Rituxan. CT scan says everything looks good but a few nodes are enlarged yet. Read a lot of articles online. There are some good sites for lymphoma. One thing I learned is not to panic because it was stage 4. With the blood cancers it is easy to spread since they are in systems (blood or lymph) that contain fluids. There also seems to be a lot of good drugs out there for treatment. 

You might expect loss of

You might expect loss of appetite, constipation and feel weak.

What you eat is VERY important during treatment. My doctor told me to eat lot's of peanut butter, I thought at first of this to be kind of funny, but it helped. Seems like the peanut butter worked like a lining for my stomach against all the medicine. Don't eat too much of it! Blueberries, broccoli & kiwi mixed with milk and ice. Strawberries, peaches, plums & apples. You might not want to eat because of the effects of the chemo, but please, eat, always eat because  if you don't, you will get very weak. Lentils or broccoli soups. Have an apple at hand everytime you are going to get lab tests done, eat it afterwards. Yogurt & lot's of water while you are taking the treatment is very good. Your taste buds might change, things that you never thought you liked eating will taste delicious. Happened to me, I never liked broccolli. After each treatment, drink lot's of water and of course, pray to God. He is real and will help you just by asking Him.

Bluemanx said:

good news, bad reaction to Rituxan

Bone marrow found free of lymphoma !

 

 

Stage

Blue,

 

The negative bone marrow biopsy most likely means you are stage 3, worst case.  Or less.  The doctor will tell you your stage any time you ask.  I have spoken with a lot of oncologists, both my own and while taking other patients for appointmens.  All of them have agreed:  "Eat what you feel like during treatment."   

Bluemanx said:

more info

FYI, I'm 65, female.  My doctor said I'm in stage III, based on my PET scan.  

I'm confused, can I go out of the house while I am in treatment ?   I am retired with a good support system.  Thanks for listening.

Activities

Bluemax,

Some people work during treatment, but most do not.  Treatments and the severity of the disease vary so wildly during chemo that what a given individual experiences may look nothing at all like what others do.  Initially I left work to start chemo, and after aboout two months, went back, because it seemed so mild.  Then, I virtually fell apart, couldn't get out of bed, had insufficient energy to do much of anything. If you had told me a month earlier how I would feel then I would not have believed it.  My doc said I could do whatever I felt well enough to do....  "Chemo Fog" later kicked in, and I was often too confused to drive, so realize that that is a potential issue also.  Food fetishes are common, and I lost all sense of taste for several months.  I lived off of breakfast drinks for a time.  A friend who had lymphoma decades earlier told me he went five months able to tolerate only pot pie -- he ate nothing but pot pie for many months.  Others enjoy whatever they ate befoe sickness.

My neighbor had lymphoma a year before I did, but his meds all had to be taken as an inpatient, for six or eight months.  Except to go to the hospital for his three day sessions, he never came out of the house during those months...my wife and I in fact thought that he had died until we saw himone morning, being carried to the car by his roommate.  He was emaciated, had gone from around 300 pounds to about 140. We were shocked, could hardly believe it was him.  When I went back to work after about eight month's out, many coworkers did not initially recognize me, and were stunned at my appearance.  Becaue I worked n areas that required security access, a few actually asked who I was ! But others patients have little change, don't lose weight, and so forth.

One thing about going outside is that several medicines require that you stay out of direct sunlight for extended periods. And others cause prickly heat, or miserable itching and sweating, which could be a problem in these summer temps.  I guess just conservatively test what you can handle, but I would not force the issue; rest is better for most than trying to prove that we can conquer the world.

max

Bluemanx said:

more info

FYI, I'm 65, female.  My doctor said I'm in stage III, based on my PET scan.  

I'm confused, can I go out of the house while I am in treatment ?   I am retired with a good support system.  Thanks for listening.

Listen to your body as your treatments progress

Hi!  I hope you are feeling well. I am 47 and was able to work through chemo, but it was challenging. I had Bendamustine & Ritaximab treatments once a month for 4 months. I felt fine through the first 2, but it was more difficult after the last 2. I found that I had to come home from work and go to bed at 6 pm at about 8 days after chemo. Even so, I was lucky.

Listen to your body and doctor. I am a teacher and I did not get sick. Wash hands, rest, stay home when you are down. It is not a bad idea to avoid crowds, just in case.  

Good Luck.