almost done with chemo

chris9655
chris9655 Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin) #1
Hi everybody, my names chris and i'm 24 from new york and have never done this support thing before. although i wish i had a long time ago.
I've had 15 abvd treatments and next monday will be my last so yay for that. My dr. isnt sure if he wants to do radiation yet. And i don't know what to expect from it. Can anyone tell me what its like? I'm sure its better than chemo, god, anything is. :)
Thanks for listening,
chris

Comments

  • carpentert
    carpentert Member Posts: 13
    #2
    Anything is better than chemo. Radiation had a few minor side effects. But for the most part, it was a walk in the park compared to chemo. Look forward to getting your life back! Best wishes!
  • ronbroman
    ronbroman Member Posts: 1
    #3
    Hi Chris - you and I are in very similar situations. I'm 25, and I just finished 8 cycles of ABVD on 9/30. I find out about whether or not I'm getting radiation on Monday 10/7. I had a friend - he and I did most of our chemo together, and he's a 22 year old Hodgkins survivor - he just finished radiation, and said it was a pice of cake compared to chemo. So if we've made it this far, we're almost home!!

    To be honest, I started celebrating after my last Neupogen shot, and I'm not going to stop. Radiation, I'm confident, will be nothing to me now that I've survived Hodgkins AND ABVD chemo!
  • dpomroy
    dpomroy Member Posts: 135
    #4
    You're right...it is WAY easier than chemo. The good: when you go every day at the same time you get to know the others who are there & it's like your own little support group of friends, it doesn't take a whole lot of time out of your day like chemo probably did, there's no puking involved. The bad: having to do anything everyday (even if if were something you liked doing) would get annoying after many weeks, skin can get red and dry, throat can get sore. Congrats on getting through the toughest part!
  • wallpa
    wallpa Member Posts: 22
    #5
    Yeah, radiation is great compared to chemo, BUT, for me, it tired me out more so than chemo. Keep your energy up.

    patty
  • jsavre
    jsavre Member Posts: 5
    #6
    Hi Chris,
    I had chemo & radiation 6-years ago. The radiation was much easier on me than the chemo, I had the treatments 5 days a week for 5 weeks. The treatments, were easy, they just strapped me on this table and aimed their machine at me for a minute or two and it was done. I had it to my chest and neck, so I had a little sunburn, my hair on the back of my head/neck feel out, and my throat was kinda sore. The only real side effect was that after the radiation treatments were complete I started coughing real bad, the doctors found that I was having a rare lung reaction to the radiation and they had to put me on steroids for a couple of months. But if I had to do it again, I would for sure, just knowing that it gave me a greater chance of survival was worth it!
    Jsavre
  • brirun95
    brirun95 Member Posts: 2
    #7
    Congrats. Radiation is a walk in the park compared to chemo. I had chemo for about 6 mos. ABVD. Then 4 weeks of radiation, 5 days per week. The treatments were very quick. As soon as I walked in the door, they took care of me, and sent me on my way in about 10 minutes. Very little in the way of side effects. The thing that was a pain was the very first visit where they figure out how you are to be positioned on the table, and where the blocks will be placed to sheild your vital organs. After that first visit. . . cake. You'll really enjoy things about a month after your treatments are over. I was AMAZED at the amount of energy I had! I didn't realize I lost that much energy over the course of my treatments.

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