DLBC Lymphoma with out tumor

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Question.. Did anyone on here have DLBC without tumors? I am a 57 year old female that was completely blind sided by my diagnosis.I got laid-off from my job in the middle of March because of Co-vid.I had a very active job walking 10,000 steps daily and not working now made me worry about staying active/ not gaining weight.After being home a couple weeks I noticed two things. One I was gaining some weight feeling thick in the abdomen and two. I had a bump growing on my forehead.The bump was weird as I thought I had a mosquito bite at first.Through April and May I would diet, walk try to stay active and it seemed to work. The bump continued to grow. I also developed acid reflux, a new one for me and with most things I chalked it up to getting older or with pains or twinges that I had lifted too much Or done too much.On June 3 I had my physical. As usual the doctor asked me how I was feeling and usually my answer is I feel pretty good but this time I told him somethings wrong with me I don't feel right. I have to say being laid off because of Covid helped me be very aware of my own body. At my physical my doctor discovered I had an upper gastric hernia and I had complained of some lower right pelvic pain and so he decided that I would get two ultrasounds done. I had been to the dermatologist two days earlier to show my dermatologist the nodule on my head and he had taken a punch out of it to be sent to the lab and said he wanted to see an ultrasound on my head. Fast track to results from the ultrasound. I had an obvious hernia, and a mass on my forehead, and they said I had an ovarian cyst/massOn the left side. The report did say they were recommend an MRI. Fast track to the MRIs I don't have an ovarian mass I have enlarged lymph nodes in the lower pelvic region. They now recommended a CT scan. And bloodwork to check for cancer markers. Blood work comes back looks good slightly anemic no problem. The next day July 1 doctor calls me tells me I have lymphoma.I I get right in to get a lymph node biopsy and on July 15 I find out from my oncology doctor that I have diffused large B cell lymphoma stage four(it is not in any organ or bone marrow)from what I read it seems every lymph node  and spleen was lit up in my body and because I had the nodule growing on my head they had to consider it stage four.Doctor told me no surgery or radiation.i'm thinking maybe the reason I didn't have a lot of large B cell Warning signs was maybe because I caught it very early. One of my doctors said sometimes you don't realize how bad you're feeling you just get used to it and maybe I had been feeling bad for a while. I have completed one chemo and I have a spinal chemo tomorrow and my second chemo five days after that.I made it through the first chemo with minimal side effects and great results as the nodule that had grown for16 weeks is almost gone. I appreciate everyone on this site for your helpful insights and am encouraged by those in remission.

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  • Lym999
    Lym999 Member Posts: 43 Member
    edited August 2020 #2
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    Hi Burni,

    Hi Burni,

    Lymphoma a lot of times is found by accident. I had no idea I had Lymphoma but had been having some breathing problems. They took a chest x-ray and a CT Scan and was told I had Lung Cancer. at first Luckily for me, it ended up being Large Diffuse B-Cell Lymphoma. I was stage 3 because it had been in my Lung and Spleen but the stage really doesn't matter as it does with a lot of other cancers. I assume you are going through R-CHOP? It is amazing how fast the Chemo treatment works. It only took a week after my first treatment for my right lung to fully reopen.  That is a great sign that the module on your forehead is nearly gone.

     

    John

  • Evarista
    Evarista Member Posts: 336 Member
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    Nary a lump

    DLBCL: never had a single EXTERNAL sign of my lymphoma.  Mesenteric, peri-aortic, and adnexal (like yours, near my ovary). Systemic symptom that drove me to seek treatment was increasingly severe and thoroughly debilitating fatigue.