In remission and scared

I was dx'd with NHL,stage 2, last November. I was given R-CHOP chemo, and after three treatments, I went into remission.
While no one with NHL can be considered cured, it is very significant that the quicker one goes into remission, the longer the interval between recurrence, if in fact it does recur. My oncologist tells me that it is not unusual for remission to go on for ten years or more.
Your remission occurred quickly, so you have that advantage, - plus, with the research going on, who knows what discoveries will be made before any possible recurrence in your case.
I am also a five (plus) year survivor of lung cancer (unrelated). I was originally dx'd as incurable/inoperable, but here I am, alive and kickin'. My best advice to you is to have a positive attitude and get on with living a normal(?) life. NHL be damned! Don't let the paranoia, which is normal in all cancer survivors, upset your life. Based on the above, cross that bridge when you come to it, - IF you do come to it.
My best wishes and prayers for a long, happy future for you.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkins in 2000, went through all the chemo and radiation treatments. I wasn't worried about it coming back because Hodgkins has a high cure rate BUT it DID come back! I knew this time how to navigate the system and battle my way through it. I had a stem cell transplant and am cancer free today.

I know that my philosophy is probably strange sounding but it works for me...Cancer probably will get me someday, but not today! What am I going to do with each bonus day? Who am I going to make smile? What new thing am I going to brave enough to try? What old grudge am I going to forgive? I am going to do the best with what I am given, every day of it.

It's not that I never worried! But worrying never changed an outcome. So I try to shove it out of my mind, and focus on what I can do something about.

Hi. I do not have cancer, but my father who is 54 years old was dx with NHL stage 1 diffuse B cell I believe last year when he was 53. He went through about 6 or 8 rounds of chemo and got the rituxin shot each time. He immediately went into remission as well. His last pet scan came back completely clean and from now on his oncologist said that he just has to get a ct scan every 3 months. Lately, my father has seemed different. My mom and I talked and she told me that my father is very afraid that the cancer is going to come back, or be found all over his body. He is afraid that he will only live at the most 5 more years. He is afraid that he will not get to see my 14 month old daughter grow up. Hearing that about my father made me very upset. I am very close to both my parents and am in no way ready for either of them to leave me. Reading your post, I know see my father is not alone in his fears. I wish that he would get on the internet to one of these sites or join a support group, but I do not think he would do it. He told my mother that his feelings were something that he had to deal with on his own. But I am afraid that his negative feelings will influence the cancer to come back. He was very positive and optimistic throughout his treatments, and I believed that helped him. I know that once you have been dx with cancer, there is always a chance for it to recur or be found someewhere else, but like my father you both are younger when it was found, responded to treatment and went into remission immediately. I think that improves the chances of your prognosis. When my dad first went to the oncologist and asked him what his prognosis was and outlook the doctor told him they were going for a cure. My dad has had co workers die of cancer recently and family friends also. He said its like everywhere you turn people are dying of cancer. He also reads the obituaries constantly. Someone told him that he needs to stop doing that and that he also needs to read Romans in the bible. My father has told me that he believes in God, but we have never gone to church as a family. I came home and found him reading Romans the other night and I asked him what he was doing and he said that was between him and the lord. Maybe you could read that also. I don't know if it helped him or not, but you could try. Your situation seems very similar to my fathers. I pray for him everyday and now I will pray for you and all the others out there fighting cancer. It is a horrible disease. My grandmother on my moms side died of lung cancer when I was only 11, while I knew her, it is hard for me to really remember her because I was so young when she passed away. She was only 59 or 60 when she died. I don't want that to happen to my little girl with my dad. He adores her. Stay strong and remember there are people out there that are having the same feelings as you, stay positive and never give up the fight!