Switching epoch-r to R-chop

Hello,
I m knew to the network. I was recently diagnosed with PMBCL and received 4 courses of EPOCh-r. My pet scan after the 2nd one was negative. I had a very hard time with therapy in terms of severe nausea despite all sorts of meds us started to worry about side effects of etoposide such as leukemia down the road, which is very hard to treat. After discussing it with my oncologist, I was switched to RCHOp for the last 2 cycles.
Just wondered if anybody had similar experience.
Thank you!
Madrusia

Comments

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,803 Member
    R-CHOP
    Hey Madrusia !

    A lot of folks here have done r-chop, but of those, I do not know if any also did r-epoch.
    I believe Jim did EPOCH, and he will hopefully join here.

    R-CHOP is the most common combo for NHL. I did r-abvd, the most common HL combo.

    I hope you get the info you need.

    max
  • jimwins
    jimwins Member Posts: 2,107
    Welcome
    Hi Madrusia and welcome to the site. I had Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (stage 2)
    and I'm happy to say I'm very close to my first year of remission.
    PMBCL is a subset of Diffuse B Cell Lymphoma and R-EPOCH is commonly used
    to treat DBCL.

    I had 6 cycles of R-EPOCH. My treatment was interrupted
    early on for surgery (removed a small section of my small intestine) but
    after recovery, I resumed. I was very fortunate that I did not have
    major issues with side effects (other than expected).

    I suspect you were taken off of the etoposide due to your side effects and the
    fact you were responding well after the 2nd cycle. I'm not sure of anyone
    here with the exact same circumstances as you but hopefully someone will chime in.

    I'm glad you are responding well to treatment and you are most welcome here!
    You will find wonderfully supportive folks here.

    Hugs and positive thoughts to you,

    Jim
  • Madrusia
    Madrusia Member Posts: 3
    jimwins said:

    Welcome
    Hi Madrusia and welcome to the site. I had Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (stage 2)
    and I'm happy to say I'm very close to my first year of remission.
    PMBCL is a subset of Diffuse B Cell Lymphoma and R-EPOCH is commonly used
    to treat DBCL.

    I had 6 cycles of R-EPOCH. My treatment was interrupted
    early on for surgery (removed a small section of my small intestine) but
    after recovery, I resumed. I was very fortunate that I did not have
    major issues with side effects (other than expected).

    I suspect you were taken off of the etoposide due to your side effects and the
    fact you were responding well after the 2nd cycle. I'm not sure of anyone
    here with the exact same circumstances as you but hopefully someone will chime in.

    I'm glad you are responding well to treatment and you are most welcome here!
    You will find wonderfully supportive folks here.

    Hugs and positive thoughts to you,

    Jim

    RCHOp vs EPOCH
    Thank you so much for your replies and support!
    I was initially really excited about the possibility of switching but now worry that maybe I should have "sucked it up", as this is not a very conventional approach. On the other I guess I should trust my oncologist, who is a great guy, that he wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize my outcome.
    So glad you guys are doing well! I need those good stories!
    Thanks again!

    Madrusia (PMBCL, dx June 2012)