Large B-cell lymphoma

My mom is going through chemo(fludarabine and mitoxantrone)for follicular b-cell,mixed small and large.She's doing pretty well so far and she's 75 years old.She has had it for about a year now.She's responding well but her type does not often allow for a "remission" as such,only treatment every so often.It's slow growing(indolent)and people with her type have about a 10 year window.It's not an exact match for your dad's case but I hope I've helped.CHOP and Rituxan seem to be common treatments so he's probably getting the help of a good onc.One bit of advice:don't take this lying down.Learn all you can about it and you'll be able to be a great help to your dad.My philosophy with my mom is that she is one of many patients to her doctor,but she's MY only patient and I can give her the extra bit of help when needed.Nutrition is important as well.
Best of luck to him and you.
Randy

rocky5 said:

Randy, Thank you so much for your message. I was wondering if you could off some advice as to what some good nutritional things I should be providing to my dad. I have found great support on this network. And I just want to thank you immensely for replying. I hope your mom is feeling better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Thank you.Mom is better and tumors are shrinking slowly but surely.I would stay away from "quack" things you may hear about and stick to time-honored foods such as vegetables and fruits.Include all the color groups such as greens,reds and yellows.I have my mom eat green beans,spinach,tomatoes,corn,etc.She also drinks V8 juice which is basically liquid veggies.It's ok to grab a burger or a taco occasionally,too, but to incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables in an everyday diet helps.Remember that it's best right now to maintain or even gain weight than deal with weight loss.Teas(green or black) are good to drink and about any fruit such as oranges,peaches,pineapples are good as well.There are no miracle cure foods,just ordinary foods to help nourish.Best of luck and i hope your dad does well.
Randy

I'd like to help but soooooo
I'd like to help but soooooo in the dark on all of this. Survival is so iffy as sooooooo many things to look at in each case not the same. I see 5yrs but what quality of life I don't know. I have Large B. Cell lymphoma just diagnosed this week. Onocology appt. on Friday. I wish you luck. I asked a nurse about survival and she said she believed in prayer. I do too but I am looking for a yes or no. Sorry. lol and best wishes.

railroad said:

My mom is going through chemo(fludarabine and mitoxantrone)for follicular b-cell,mixed small and large.She's doing pretty well so far and she's 75 years old.She has had it for about a year now.She's responding well but her type does not often allow for a "remission" as such,only treatment every so often.It's slow growing(indolent)and people with her type have about a 10 year window.It's not an exact match for your dad's case but I hope I've helped.CHOP and Rituxan seem to be common treatments so he's probably getting the help of a good onc.One bit of advice:don't take this lying down.Learn all you can about it and you'll be able to be a great help to your dad.My philosophy with my mom is that she is one of many patients to her doctor,but she's MY only patient and I can give her the extra bit of help when needed.Nutrition is important as well.
Best of luck to him and you.
Randy

read your post date wrong.

I was diagnosed with NHL
I was diagnosed with NHL large B cell lymphoma about 10 years ago. I had re-section surgery followed by R-CHOP chemo and went into remission for 8 years. The cancer re-curred after 8 years and I was again treated with a different Chemo regimen followed by a Bone Marrow Transplant with full body radiation. I was about 58 at the time of the first go round and 66 when I had the BMT. So far I'm NSD and feel great. Don't ever give up fighting this demonic disease. Good luck.

DennisR said:

I was diagnosed with NHL
I was diagnosed with NHL large B cell lymphoma about 10 years ago. I had re-section surgery followed by R-CHOP chemo and went into remission for 8 years. The cancer re-curred after 8 years and I was again treated with a different Chemo regimen followed by a Bone Marrow Transplant with full body radiation. I was about 58 at the time of the first go round and 66 when I had the BMT. So far I'm NSD and feel great. Don't ever give up fighting this demonic disease. Good luck.

Dennis NHL
Your post helped me tonight. I am so glad you had 8 yrs cancer free. What a blessing. I am gaining courage through all of you. Terrified of a bone marrow test? At this time I'd rather run into a train. See the onocologist tomorrow for what I am sure is a long list of tests. I will try to be brave as you. Buttttttttt I am having spells of depressin Dennis. Thanks for your comments.

cbpgill26 said:

Dennis NHL
Your post helped me tonight. I am so glad you had 8 yrs cancer free. What a blessing. I am gaining courage through all of you. Terrified of a bone marrow test? At this time I'd rather run into a train. See the onocologist tomorrow for what I am sure is a long list of tests. I will try to be brave as you. Buttttttttt I am having spells of depressin Dennis. Thanks for your comments.

Courage
I am a survivor of (16yrs on May4th-anniversary of my bone marrow/stem cell transplant)I was a 29 year old wife and mother of 3 young children when I was diagnosed.I was unbelievably healthy until this.once diagnosed, I was the poster child of everything that could go wrong did. My fight was all uphill.It was the worst 1.5 yrs of my life.My diagnosis was less than 20% survival rate because my Stage IV large cell diffused non-hodgkins lymphoma was so aggressive.After 6 months of CHOP/ICE I was in remission for less than 2 months and when it came back so quickly it was extremely aggressive.I then endured 3 rounds of HIGH treatments to try and get me in remission but they couldnt.Seeing the tumors were shrinking they did the bone marrow/stem cell transplant anyway and followed immediately with 28 rounds of radiation.
Why do I share this story--because that was 16 years ago.Today I am 46 years old living my life to the fullest. CANCER FREE!! I have a cough that wont go away but besides that I am very healthy.You may go through some difficult times but keep the hope alive.At the time I wanted so badly for my Dr to tell me everything was going to be fine but she couldnt.I had to figure that part out and every hoop she put out for me I had to have the courage to jump through even when it was on fire.Reach deep down and fight this battle how ever you need to.My prayers are with you....I want to be a ray of hope and light to all going through this...Ellen

Rexmax, you need to speak with your Oncologist .  One of the drugs, Vincristin, in the RCHOP is known to cause sever constipation.  The reason the bowel is slow is because this drug causes slowing of the muscle contractions in the bowel.  I am not a doctor but was told not going to the bathroom for 3 days is a serious concern.  If taking double dose Miralax daily isn't doing the trick you need prescription doseages in my opinion.  This will happen every time you get RCHOP so be prepared before hand.  When I was getting RCHOP I was on Miralax from the day before chemo until one week after chemo.  What helped me was a had a throat problem, thrush, caused by the chemo and the medications side effect caused the reverse problem.

Many here have had similar problems with chemo induced constipation.  I'm sure more will chime in.  

Wishing you luck in getting this resolved.  Please keep us informed.

Leslie

Vincristine!

Hello Rexmax,

Sorry you're going through this. You did, however, come to the right place for info and support.

My very first R-CHOP infusion brought my bowels to a grinding halt. Nothing moving for five days, no matter what I tried. I called the hospital (twice!), talked to the hematology resident, took whatever meds he prescribed - to no avail. After five days, things slowly started moving again.

When I saw the hematologist for my second infusion, I made it quite clear that I wanted NEVER to go through that again. As I had a bunch of other neurological issues that had all arisen from that first infusion, he gave me a thorough neurological examination and decided to pull the vincristine from my regimen.

My chemotherapy has now been over for a full year, and I can say that I haven't fully recovered from that single encounter with vincristine.

Make sure your Doctor is aware of what is going on. Do not spare details, as this can be serious. Some amount of discomfort, I suppose, is unavoidable - but misery is not acceptable.

Hope you feel better soon.

PBL