After Treatment?

Alison,
I finished chemo/stem cell/ radiation therapy back in 1996. I found that there were several side effect that I was unaware of. The good news is that none of them were serious. I can say that now because I have been through them, but at the time I always feared the worst. It took me a full year after all of the treatment to actually feel like I was me again. Hang in there. Sometimes it feels like it is going incredibly slow, but each day, you will get a step closer to feeling like yourself. And remember, always discuss these issues with your doctor. They can provide you with some insight. Good luck and God bless.

Congratulations Alison -
After going through Chemo, Radiation & a Transplant in 1999, I thought the same as you, "Will I ever go back to work?" In time you will gain your energy, stamina & your life back, It will seem to be a very slow process. It took me a year or more, before I was feeling stronger. From experience, don't hesitate to tell your Dr. about your physical trials. I felt as you feel about my Dr, and I sought another oncologist. As you probably know pneumonitis is inflammation of the lungs. You have persevered through the hardest part, keep your chin up and I will be praying for you. God Bless!!

Hi Alison
Congratulations on your remission. You must feel an extreme amount of relief to hear that news. I had hodgkins disease 13 years ago when I was 19 years old and have been in remission ever since. They treated it differently back than in that if you only had stage 2A, they only treated it with radiation, no chemotherapy. At the time that sounded good to me but now they use both so they do not do to much damage from using radiation alone. One problem that I did have for a while that went undiagnosed was my thyroid. I was having heart palpatations the same as you (sometimes it beat so fast I thought it would never stop)and also was very short of breath. It turned out that my thyroid had been damaged from the radiation treatments and I needed to be on thyroid medication. I also needed to cut back on my caffeine intake because that seemed to make it much worse.
I hope that helps! Best of Luck to you and your continued health!
Kathleen, Long Island, NY

Congratulations, Alison! Although I'm not a survivor, I know how great it is to get the news that you are cancer free. My husband is 1 week away from his 5th anniversary of being cancer-free. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's in 1997 and finished his chemo and radiation in April 1998. I don't want to scare you, but I want to be honest and say that he has had several side effects from his treatments that he did not expect, several we are still looking for answers to. Never be afraid or hesitant to go back to your doctor to ask questions -- this is your LIFE and is not to be taken lightly. If your doctor isn't giving you the time or attention you deserve, find a new one. Cancer is scary and the fear doesn't go away. Every time my husband gets sick or has a new 'symptom' we are scared that the cancer is back. So, we visit the doctors to make sure all is well. Best of luck to you for a long, cancer-free life.

mommy1st said:

Yes, I am going through this. I finished my last radiation the beginning of Dec. I had the Stanford IV (5) chemo and just over 4 weeks of radiation. My area of radiation was from my jawline to my midline (just below my breasts). That is a pretty large area I was told. Anyway, I have a pain too often when I try to take in a deep breath. I have other pains and I also am one of those pesty patience. I even scheduled myself a follow-up visit 2 weeks ago just to go over my aches and pains with both my radiologist and oncologist. I was not even told about this pneumonitis. I don't know exactly what that is. I was just told that my discomfort could be radiation related. It really concerns me. I feel that bad strange things are happening inside of me and I am feeling them. Then I get nervous like what does it mean....ya know? I go for my 1st "remission" follow-up scans in about a week or so. Currently under my arms are achey and this scares me beacuse my underarms have been uninvolved so far. Write me if you would like. Good luck and take care.

Hello Mommy.....I was diagnosed in 93, but knew something was wrong a year before. I was in stage 2 when treatment startted. I had six months of chemo. Had 37 days of radiation. I was permanently marked under both ear lobes, both underarms, and right between my breasts. ( Little blue dots.) Sometimes people ask what that is, or the scar I have from the port. Had a port put in and then removed 3 yrs later. My hair was growing in till radiation, then it fell out again! and I was very tired..and my skin was burned.And my under arms hurt too .And taking a shower was so draining..but I went to work through it all..am a hairdresser. (don't know now how anyone even sat in my chair !)Had no health insurance, and had to support myself...after last teatment ended up in hospital for a week, but guess I did OK. Your body has been through so much. There can not be bad things left in there. You are going through a kind of junkie withdrall (I call it)Am sure the chemo gets it all. I am 10 yrs free now. Never look back. All the things You are feeling now is normal.It is just that your body needs to re-adjust itself now.I had to hold on to the railing when I went down stairs for geez.......years....but exercising helped. My legs are strong now. I was told it took a good year before all the chemo is out of your body...Things that you feel -just call them episodes....they will come and go. But YOU ARE ALIVE...and I am sure your family is so happy that you are.Just go day by day.....some days will be better, Listen to your body, not your brain...The end is realy the easy part. Good luck to you....

LilPebbles7 said:

Hi Alison, I have been in remission since 1995 so I know quite a bit of what you're going through. I don't have pneumonitis but I do get shortness of breath and the fast heart beat. I think the scariest thing that you should be worried about is that you can't go to your doctor with anymore complaints. If you really feel this way, maybe you should seek out another doctor. You're going to be tired for quite a while, in fact I don't even know if you'll not be tired. There are things that you could probably do to help with the breathing and such. If you've ever had pulmonary function tests, you could ask that technician or therapist what you can do. If you have any other specific questions let me know!! Good luck!

So the fast heartbeat you guys get; does it just come on by it self or with activity... I had Hodgkins 2a(ABVD, RADIATION) and now am getting a really fast heartbeat when I do simple task periodicaly... IS THIS NORMAL???????????????????????????????????????????