T Cells, Cancer And Immunity

Options
wbcgaruss
wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,335 Member
edited May 22 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Professor Angus Dalgleish, (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, Fellow of Medical Science.) Professor Dalgleish is a highly experienced doctor, physician, medical teacher, medical author and researcher with over 500 primary research publications. He was also a pioneering researcher into HIV/AIDS.

Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy, doctor of medicine, doctor of science, doctor of philosophy, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, is a consultant physician and a well-known medical researcher, author and teacher. He holds the Australia medal.

T Cells, Cancer And Immunity

Take Care God Bless

Russ

Comments

  • cornbread
    cornbread Member Posts: 3 *
    Options

    I'm a 74 year old female in remission from Diffuse Large Cell B NH Lymphoma, after completing 5 R_chop cycles 11/23. Am experiencing lots of infections since. Is this common?

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,335 Member
    edited May 22 #3
    Options

    Hello, cornbread, and welcome to the CSN H&N discussion forum.

    I am sorry to hear you have this type of cancer and had to endure treatment and all that goes with it, but I am so glad for you that you are in remission. I believe you went through some tough treatment but thank God you got through it. Was your treatment extremely difficult? From what I am reading and having a good bit of chemotherapy myself it has the possibility of being very rough on a person, I know how it wears you down and then you recover and get the next one.

    Being here in the head and neck section did this show up in the lymph nodes in your neck or affect some part of the head and neck area for you?

    By the way, I had never heard of this kind of cancer so you had me scrambling to the internet to do my research on the subject and found there are lots of informational sites to find out about it and all related information for the patient throughout the course of different treatment options, through recovery and beyond.

    In answer to your main question, I came up with a couple of sources mentioning infection, here is an excerpt of one…

    What is the outlook for people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma?

    Many individuals with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are cured within
    four to five months of combined chemotherapy and rituximab. However,
    patients receiving therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma can
    experience serious complications, including infections and organ
    dysfunction.

    And another also mentioning infection…

    You may have lingering issues from your DLBCL treatments

    “You need to keep in mind
    that you most likely have been exposed to multiagent chemotherapy,” Dr.
    Abeykoon says. “Some people will have numbness and tingling. Others have
    mild cardiac problems. Some may have a prolonged decreased white blood
    cell count. These people may not be severely immunodeficient but may be
    at a slightly increased risk of acquiring some opportunistic infections
    such as upper respiratory tract infections.”

    “Many times, the effects go
    away with time.
    In some cases, patients will not 100% recover to the
    state before they started treatment,” he says. “In most cases, patients
    can still have a good quality of life — don’t worry.”

    I hope this answers your question at least to some extent and thanks for stopping by the CSN H&N cancer discussion board.

    Above all, if you are having serious issues or just minor problems don't hesitate to contact your doctor and or care team with questions or issues or get an appointment right away, don't take any unnecessary risks.

    I see it is recommended follow up and testing for this cancer as seems pretty standard for most cancers with follow up schedule with your doctor and I assume they are watching you closely…


    Follow-up testing
    After a complete response (CR), you will be
    monitored for relapse with the following tests:
    † A physical exam, health history, and blood
    tests every 3 to 6 months for 5 years.
    After 5 years, these tests will be done
    once a year or as needed.

    † CT of the chest/abdomen/pelvis no more
    than every 6 months for 2 years. After
    2 years, imaging testing will be done as
    needed.

    Lastly, I would like to share some of the information I have found which hopefully will help you in some way and also make others on this forum aware of what you are dealing with and to familiarize everyone about this type of cancer…Here is a Super Super site and is actually a downloadable PDF. page which I did download and this has info and pictures and explains things in detail. This I think is quite a resource and the amount of info is amazing…

    NCCN
    GUIDELINES
    FOR PATIENTS ®
    NCCN stands for National Comprehensive Cancer Network and this is a 2024 year guide so it is up to date.

    Here is another great site…

    Here is a SHORT VERSION PDF….

    And lastly here is a bit of info from the Mayo Clinic…

    Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma remission: Life after lymphoma

    There are also a lot of helpful videos on YouTube also…

    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Diffuse+Large+Cell+B+NH+Lymphoma

    Thank you for making me aware of this kind of cancer that affects the head and neck area there is always something to learn-Wishing You The Best

    I hope this info helps you and many others through your cancer journey. Many of our stories are difficult and even brutal but the key is we come out at the end victorious and fighting. Our Motto on here is "NEGU (Never Ever Give Up)"

    I would also recommend you check out the Superthread at the top of the page there is loads of information in there with links and you will find it helpful.

    Wishing You The Best

    Take Care, God Bless

    Russ

  • cornbread
    cornbread Member Posts: 3 *
    Options

    Dear Russ,

    Thank you very much for your kind sentiments and good wishes. I don't know how my post ended up in head and neck section as you (now) know mine is a blood cancer. I'm not great at navigating websites and guess I just goofed up!

    I am truly blessed to be in remission and want to keep it that way and be positive but these opportunistic infections really get me down. I go to Mayo Clinic for my follow up and have educated myself pretty well about this kind of cancer. I really appreciate the links you sent and will check them out.

    I am glad you survived chemotherapy which is never easy for anyone and hope you have many good cancer-free years ahead of you. Again, my sincere thanks for the info and encouragement you provided. Best

    CB