T Cells, Cancer And Immunity

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…

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