Shouldn't ABVD given in order ?

Bill_NC
Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
in Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin) #1

I have new nurse and noticed that she gave me the ABVD treatment in this order BVAD compare to past 11 treatment where I took them in the order of ABVD, and when I asked her she said it does not make different, but within my self I did not feel good about it. For of you who have ABVD does the order ABVD given makes a different. I wont be able to see my oncologist for another month to ask him, by then if anyone have any info please reply.

 

Thanks

Comments

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,818 Member
    #2
    NOPE ! With addendum for non-ABVD patients

    Bill,

    The order in which the drugs are given in abvd or r-abvd DOES NOT MATTER .  Well, except that benadryl will usuall come at the beginning.  All infusion nurses have to be certified for all of the drugs they administer.  It was a random difference.   I take a friend to a differnt infusion center from the one I went to, for prostate cancer treatments.  We got to talking about my treatment years earlier,  and I mentioned to her that I always got rituxan first, and she specifically said that it did not matter what order the combo drugs are given in.   Please put your mind at rest. 

    Also, any cancer center will  have a call number for problems or questions, which you can dial for issues like this.

    Bless you,

    max

    It might interest other chemo combination-therapy users to know that, unlike most other combinations,  abvd and r-abvd are all given in "one sitting." That is, all 4 or 5 drugs are given in one infusion visit, which makes it one of the simplest combinations out there, if not the most pleasant.  All 5 drugs are IV -- none of the drugs is in pill form, and none can be done "at home," whith a chemo pump.   Since it included rituxan, my infusion day averaged 8 hours, or a little more, the first few cycles.  Everything is given once every 14 days.

    .

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 said:

    NOPE ! With addendum for non-ABVD patients

    Bill,

    The order in which the drugs are given in abvd or r-abvd DOES NOT MATTER .  Well, except that benadryl will usuall come at the beginning.  All infusion nurses have to be certified for all of the drugs they administer.  It was a random difference.   I take a friend to a differnt infusion center from the one I went to, for prostate cancer treatments.  We got to talking about my treatment years earlier,  and I mentioned to her that I always got rituxan first, and she specifically said that it did not matter what order the combo drugs are given in.   Please put your mind at rest. 

    Also, any cancer center will  have a call number for problems or questions, which you can dial for issues like this.

    Bless you,

    max

    It might interest other chemo combination-therapy users to know that, unlike most other combinations,  abvd and r-abvd are all given in "one sitting." That is, all 4 or 5 drugs are given in one infusion visit, which makes it one of the simplest combinations out there, if not the most pleasant.  All 5 drugs are IV -- none of the drugs is in pill form, and none can be done "at home," whith a chemo pump.   Since it included rituxan, my infusion day averaged 8 hours, or a little more, the first few cycles.  Everything is given once every 14 days.

    .

    Thanks MAX

    I usually I am out of there within 4 - 5 hours never took Rituxan, and stopped taken brnadryl after my 5th ttreatment and Dr did not think I needed Rituxan or he want to use it as a second line of defense. Anyway when I got used to ABVD in order for all 11 treatments and  just freek it when the last one given in diffebt order. I am just glade it's over for now.

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #4
    Hi to max and Bill . I am

    Hi to max and Bill . I am suresh from India. I am following you since jan 2013 on here. I was DX  3A NLPHL in jan 2013.

    started my ABVD regime 12 infusions on 12/02/13. Has finished on 26/7/13. waiting for final pet in 3 weeks time. I would like to be

    intouch with you. Since we have the same strain of HL. Bill when are you going for the pet?

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #5
    hi Bill max & Aaron

    Hi bill. I am suresh 3A NLPHL from India. I wax DX in jan 2013. completed 12 infusions of ABVD and no Rituxan in end july 2013. I am following you,Max & Aaron since last 6 months. I am waiting for pet scan which will be after 3 weeks from my last treatment.

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,818 Member
    #6
    sureshwani said:

    hi Bill max & Aaron

    Hi bill. I am suresh 3A NLPHL from India. I wax DX in jan 2013. completed 12 infusions of ABVD and no Rituxan in end july 2013. I am following you,Max & Aaron since last 6 months. I am waiting for pet scan which will be after 3 weeks from my last treatment.

    PET

    Sureshwani,

    I am glad you got through the abvd successfully. It is EXTREMELY effective against NLPHL.

    I hope you get good news (I suspect that you will), and please do stay in touch with us here.

    max

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #7
    how to cope

    Max ,

    I had pet scan after 4 infusions. The response was good. The scan report said that, total metabolic response to chemotherpy. My onc said we will finsh 12 infusions and then take a pet scan, no scans in beetween. I am 38 yrs of age. I have a daughter of  8yrs. I want to be around her for couple of years. I am attending my job during treatment. I am not able to concentrate. the cancer thought always comes to mind. however I try to keep myself busyin work. Can you help me how to cope with cancer mentally. Since you are 4 years out of it. Pl can you help.

    Thanks

    suresh

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #8
    sureshwani said:

    Hi to max and Bill . I am

    Hi to max and Bill . I am suresh from India. I am following you since jan 2013 on here. I was DX  3A NLPHL in jan 2013.

    started my ABVD regime 12 infusions on 12/02/13. Has finished on 26/7/13. waiting for final pet in 3 weeks time. I would like to be

    intouch with you. Since we have the same strain of HL. Bill when are you going for the pet?

    Hi Sureshwani

    My last was on 7/24 and DR siad to take a break for a month before the next scan. I have office visit on 8/21 and from there will schedule the pet scan.

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #9
    sureshwani said:

    how to cope

    Max ,

    I had pet scan after 4 infusions. The response was good. The scan report said that, total metabolic response to chemotherpy. My onc said we will finsh 12 infusions and then take a pet scan, no scans in beetween. I am 38 yrs of age. I have a daughter of  8yrs. I want to be around her for couple of years. I am attending my job during treatment. I am not able to concentrate. the cancer thought always comes to mind. however I try to keep myself busyin work. Can you help me how to cope with cancer mentally. Since you are 4 years out of it. Pl can you help.

    Thanks

    suresh

    It's very tuff for me. My

    It's very tuff for me. My kids kept me going and I keep telling myself I am doing it for them and need to be around for them if GOD will. They are (14 and 8 years old). Also I don't have any family or Friends in state where I live, and none of my family knew about my cancer, they live in another state. I dealt with it alone (alone at home, alone going for treatment), also I was working full time, and did not miss work for maybe 3-5 days plus the treatments days. You just have to accept what GOD gives you, and think about it as it could be worse.

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #10
    Bill,
    I was supported and

    Bill,

    I was supported and accompanied by one of my close friend and  my wife, when I was on treatment. When i am with my family, I forget about the disease. But when I am alone, I start thinking about the disease. I try to stay more with my daughter. she motivates me to fight the disease. you are right we have to accept what god has given us. pl be in touch.

    suresh.

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,818 Member
    #11
    sureshwani said:

    how to cope

    Max ,

    I had pet scan after 4 infusions. The response was good. The scan report said that, total metabolic response to chemotherpy. My onc said we will finsh 12 infusions and then take a pet scan, no scans in beetween. I am 38 yrs of age. I have a daughter of  8yrs. I want to be around her for couple of years. I am attending my job during treatment. I am not able to concentrate. the cancer thought always comes to mind. however I try to keep myself busyin work. Can you help me how to cope with cancer mentally. Since you are 4 years out of it. Pl can you help.

    Thanks

    suresh

    Follow-up

    Next year I go over the magical "five year" point, and will then receive lab tests only once per year. I have been getting once-per-six-month tests for two years now.  Before that, it was once every three months. 

    After only one PET and two CTs following the end of chemo, my doc discontinued all CTs, saying that careful blood tests should be sufficient, and he wanted to minimize radiation exposure for me.  He gave me the option of requesting more CTs through year two, but I refused them, on his recommendation.

    I recommend a lot of Church activity, especially volunteering, if you belong to a church.  If not, I would recommend formal yoga training and relaxation techniques. Of course, anyone can do both. Many organizations teach these things for free, or for very little money.  I seem to constantly encounter relatives and friends who are diagnosed with various cancers, and explaining how oncology works is a rewarding activity for me as well.  A dear friend learned last month that his daughter has brain tumors, for instance. She is only 45 years old, with sons 6 and 16 years old.

    It is normal to worry a lot in our situation, so do not expect to be able to banish it from your life totally.  Staying busy with living your life is the best advice I have heard.  It is nothing profound or original, but it does seem to be the best advice available.

    max

  • jimwins
    jimwins Member Posts: 2,107
    #12
    sureshwani said:

    Bill,
    I was supported and

    Bill,

    I was supported and accompanied by one of my close friend and  my wife, when I was on treatment. When i am with my family, I forget about the disease. But when I am alone, I start thinking about the disease. I try to stay more with my daughter. she motivates me to fight the disease. you are right we have to accept what god has given us. pl be in touch.

    suresh.

    Welcome

    Suresh, I wanted to welcome you to the site.  Yes, worry is very hard to deal with and believe me it doesn't end after the treatments finish.  Anti-anxiety medication really does help.  I agree with the others about staying busy, etc. but we do have to process things to avoid a total unexpected meltdown.  Be good to yourself, laugh as much as you can, and helping others can also be of benefit. 

    Back when I started treatments, I was very much in "Woe is me" land.  It didn't take long after seeing what other patients were going through at the cancer center, I thought I had it pretty good.  It certainly wasn't fun but I am so fortunate that I got through everything as well as I did. 

    Here's a smile and a hug:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28xjtYY3V3Q

    Jim

  • micah00
    micah00 Member Posts: 13
    #13
    There was one time when I did

    There was one time when I did not receive my ABVD in order only because the pharmacy didn't get it done in the right order. I felt the same way that day and they said it did not matter how i received it only as long as I did. But it was out of the normal so I questioned it also. So no worries.

     

                                                                                          Micah

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #14
    Jim
    Thanks for your support.

    Jim

    Thanks for your support. I even now keep thinking that "Why me". I was in perfect health. Hardly visited a doctor and suddenly one day I am Dx with NLPHL. Even today after six months my heart is not ready to accept that, I have cancer. I keep looking at my child for motivation to fight this disease. I keep praying to God to make me cancer free every day.

    Suresh

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #15
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 said:

    Follow-up

    Next year I go over the magical "five year" point, and will then receive lab tests only once per year. I have been getting once-per-six-month tests for two years now.  Before that, it was once every three months. 

    After only one PET and two CTs following the end of chemo, my doc discontinued all CTs, saying that careful blood tests should be sufficient, and he wanted to minimize radiation exposure for me.  He gave me the option of requesting more CTs through year two, but I refused them, on his recommendation.

    I recommend a lot of Church activity, especially volunteering, if you belong to a church.  If not, I would recommend formal yoga training and relaxation techniques. Of course, anyone can do both. Many organizations teach these things for free, or for very little money.  I seem to constantly encounter relatives and friends who are diagnosed with various cancers, and explaining how oncology works is a rewarding activity for me as well.  A dear friend learned last month that his daughter has brain tumors, for instance. She is only 45 years old, with sons 6 and 16 years old.

    It is normal to worry a lot in our situation, so do not expect to be able to banish it from your life totally.  Staying busy with living your life is the best advice I have heard.  It is nothing profound or original, but it does seem to be the best advice available.

    max

    Great news MAX, and wish you

    Great news MAX, and wish you all the best. I'll keep in mind the radiation aspect on my next visit to schedule checkup for the upcoming months\years.

     

    Sometimes when I hear your successful treatment I want to kick myself in the face for not pushing the DR to treat me with rituxan. I keep thinking that because of that I may get relapse. I see that you, Aaron and Jonathan all got rituxan with your ABVD for NLPHL, and I feel I am not getting the full treatment to keep that sucker away.

     

    Well, it's too late now. I just pray to GOD it won’t relapse.

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #16
    Bill,
    I was following the

    Bill,

    I was following the posts from you,max and Aaron during my treatment days. Even I tried to convince my Onc to include Rituxan in my treatment during my visits. But My Onc always told me that, I did not needed it. I had the same expeirence with my Onc as you. Hope only the ABVD in our case take care of NLPHL. Did your Onc suggested any radiation treatment after ABVD?

    Suresh

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #17
    sureshwani said:

    Bill,
    I was following the

    Bill,

    I was following the posts from you,max and Aaron during my treatment days. Even I tried to convince my Onc to include Rituxan in my treatment during my visits. But My Onc always told me that, I did not needed it. I had the same expeirence with my Onc as you. Hope only the ABVD in our case take care of NLPHL. Did your Onc suggested any radiation treatment after ABVD?

    Suresh

    Suresh, I think Jonathan also

    Suresh, I think Jonathan also has NLPHL , so there are 5 of us. I believe we all have stage 3A as well. My ONC said that radiation is out of the picture, But if the scan end of this month came back positive on one spot then he may reconsider it, but he does'nt seems enthusiastic about it.

  • sureshwani
    sureshwani Member Posts: 23
    #18
    Bill,
    In your earliear post

    Bill,

    In your earliear post you had mentioned about vein discoluring. I still have blackish/brownish vein color (on my left hand). do you still have that kind of vein color. Do you have any idea, how long it will take the color to disappear.

    thanks

    suresh

  • Bill_NC
    Bill_NC Member Posts: 133 Member
    #19
    sureshwani said:

    Bill,
    In your earliear post

    Bill,

    In your earliear post you had mentioned about vein discoluring. I still have blackish/brownish vein color (on my left hand). do you still have that kind of vein color. Do you have any idea, how long it will take the color to disappear.

    thanks

    suresh

    I have them in both hands.

    I have them in both hands. The DR said they will fade away with time, but will still visible. Mine still there. they don't bother me anymore. I am just afraid someone will think I am a drug addict. :)

Discussion Boards