Continuing School

SIMON

Has anyone continued to take college classes while still having ABVD treatments? My daughter will be having her last two treatments while just returning to college this fall. Do you think this is possible for her? Will she be able to focus? Her first treatment went well but we are delayed due to low WBC for the second which she will have this week.

positive

Hello, my dad went through 4 chemo treatments pretty well, but after the 5th the fatigue started to kick in. Its a tough question to answer everyone responds different. The chemo will accumulate over time and in return will cause fatigue. It is nice to plan things ahead, but your daughter will not know how she feels. sometimes people get more familiar with the path of there side effects, what I mean is, one may feel sick 3 days after chemo or one may feel tired 10 days later and people tend to plan things on the course of there side effects. I'm happy your daughters 1st treatment went well and I hope she continues to remain positive, my dad has stage IIA and went into remission after the 6th treatment, but will continue 2 more treatments and radiation. Best wishes to you and I hope everything goes well for your daughter. Hodgkins is a curable disease and she should expect to win the fight.

kavnan

My son was diagnosed with Hodgkins in October of his freshman year at college. He was going to school 2 1/2 hours from Home and staying in a dorm. He did not want treatments or cancer to affect him going to school. He did not have classes on Fridays, so he would come home Thursday night, have treatment on Friday and return to school Sunday evening. That way he could be with me over the weekend while he was feeling punk. He did wonderfully. He did get progressively tired, but it did not stop him. He made the Dean's list that semester as well as the next while undergoing treatment. I am so proud of him. He had a mindset that this was not going to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. He had some rough times but was so determined. It can be done. I would have never thought he would be able to continue school, but he did it and so can your daughter. I wish you and your daughter the best.

dpomroy

I agree with positive that everyone reacts differently, so it is hard to predict. If your daughter wants to try to take classes, then she should take them. It is so important to feel like you still have a say-so in your own life while you are battling cancer. I continued to work through my ABVD treatments, and it helped me to maintain my perspective on everything. A couple of recommendations from someone who has been through it, and as a teacher in a college...
1. Take the minimum load, or at least easier classes if possible just in case fatigue does become a problem.
2. Plan your course schedule so that you have a Monday or a Friday off if at all possible. Then you can plan your chemo around having a few days to recover.
3. Talk with your professors early in the term to explain your situation and your determination to keep up. Ask if there are days that you cannot come in, is it possible for communication or handing in of assignments to happen on-line.
4. If all else fails, and you realize that you will not be able to keep up, withdraw from your classes while you can still get a refund. Withdraws do not count against your GPA, and then you can return to college again once you are at full speed.

Good luck!

Ronnie10

I am a senior in college right now. Back in October I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's. I dropped my courses at the time because it was a lot to deal with and I was very unsure if I would be able to complete the semester. I registered for 12 credits during this past spring semester. I just explained my situation to each of my professors and they were extremely understanding and let me work at my own pace since I had to miss class a lot. I did fine. I am done my chemo now, and I am getting radiation. I am taking a summer class which started today. I definately think that school is a good idea. It gets your mind off of everything. Tell her to take a light course load. Also, tell her to never stress over the work. There is obviously more important things in life. I was supposed to graduate now, but because of everything I am now graduating in December. At first, I thought that was like the end of the world, but now I know it is far from being something bad. Tell her to concentrate on getting better; that's the most important thing. As far as school, she'll be fine to go. By then it will make her start feeling like herself again. The more I was away from school and work, the less I felt like me. I was happy to be in class. Good luck, take care, and let us know how she is doing.

Veronica