Do you know anyone who has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma?

Do you know anyone who has been diagnosed with, treated for, and/or in remission with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma?


How did he/she deal with it?


What was the treatment?


How did the friends/family deal?


Can you give any advice to a young woman who's mother was recently diagnosed?


Is there anything we should know about it?

Do you know anyone who has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma?
I was diagnosed a little over three years ago. I had both agressive and non-aggressive, which makes it a real pain to get under control. I've had to do alot of different chemo treatments, including a stem cell transplant. It just keeps coming back. The longest I was "in remission" was a year.


When I first found out about the cancer, I immediately adopted the attitude that this disease was not going to run or ruin my life...it was just going to have to find a way to fit into it!


I lost my husband about 2 1/2 years before I found the cancer and my kids were 12 %26amp; 13 when we found it.....I didn't have time to be sick, with 2 kids to raise!!! The first treatment of R/CHOP was pretty easy for me and I still worked full time and did all that I normally would. I even got up enought nerve to start dating again, about 9 months after I finished my chemo.....bless his heart, he has hung in there with me for the past 2 years.


I few weeks shy of one year off chemo, I found out it was back and this time he was going to bring out the "big guns" and do the transplant, which, i will be honest with you, really sucked! But, I still worked full time, as much as I could, until I did the final part of the chemo and had to be hospitalized while I waited for my counts to go back up.


About 6 months later, I found out it was back again......so, off to battle once more I went!





My family and friends have been amazing....my kids have wacky senses of humor, like I do, and we laughed alot all the way thru all the treatments. I made a billion jokes about looking like Howie Mandel, with my bald head! My friends respected my wishes to treat me "like normal". That was my biggest request.......treat me the same as always!!! That's the best advise I could give someone. Offer help, if needed, but let the survivor make the choice.





I'm sorry this was kinda long, but you asked for alot of info!!


I tell you my story, not to scare you, but share own personal experience. To be honest with you....many people I have met that have NH lymphoma don't go thru as much as I have been thru.....had we caught it sooner, it may have been different, but I will continue to keep fighting, until the doctors get it right!
Reply:My mother-in-law was diagnosed last year and she is doing just fine. There is no trace of cancer to date. She had 6 chemo treatments that were administered 2 days per week every three weeks. Non-hodgkins is very treatable and has a high cure rate. There are drugs now that seem to help with side effects from chemo. The worst part about it for her was the worry and the fatigue from the chemo. Also when she went to the bathroom, it was kind of nasty the first day or 2 after receiving treatment because your body is getting rid of all of that poison. Odds are very much in your favor that your mom will be just fine too. Knowing that, it is still not an easy thing to deal with, though, but you will get through it and be able to move on before you know it. All the best to both of you.
Reply:Yes. A few.


One in particular: She is very strong. Chose to go with intense chemo and radiation. As a result, she is left with permanent neuropathy which is dibilitating and painful, and heart problems. But the cancer is in remission.


She has some good relatives who would help her out and do things for her. But her mother is a soul-eating demon.





Something you should know about: chemo treatments cause alot of damage, and kill many people (it is not uncommon, no matter what anyone here says). It also saves many people. It will definitely make her ill, at least for a time. She will probably not get through chemo without developing permanent peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage). (Neurontin only helps some people, and only a little.) Severity varies from person to person. She may be in and out of the hospital during the chemo period.





I would encourage anyone facing cancer to look into juice fasting. Here are a few links for you:





This woman was put on a waiting list for conventional cancer care. While she was waiting, she changed her diet, and went on juice fasts. Read it, I have corresponded with this person and know the truth of their words:


http://s13.invisionfree.com/THE_UNHIVED_...





Juice fasting for this requires that you use fresh juices extracted at home with your own juicer, and you must filter out all the pulp you can from the juice. You can get a plastic non-disposable coffee filter from the supermarket for this purpose. you will have to pour the freshly extracted juice into the filter, hold and cover the top of it with one hand, and tap the top of that hand with your other hand in order to get the juice to filter through the plastic mesh. This will get out alot more pulp that the screens included with home juicers.





Here is the blog of another fellow who discusses therapies he used on his leukemia (thoroughly interesting and informative):





http://radio.weblogs.com/0135129/2005/01...





Please read every bit of this fellow's entire blog, not just the text on the linked page. You will learn.





This is the Breuss Cancer Cure mentioned. you don't have to buy the book they speak of, the recipe is listed on this page, just scroll down and read for it:


http://curezone.com/diseases/cancer/breu...








I try not to sugar coat the truth, because I hate when people do that to me.





I am sorry for your trouble, and wish the best of luck to both you and your Mom.
Reply:i was diagnosed in 2004 with ctcl (non-hodgkins). i have been taking interferon for a little over three years now and i can tell you that sometimes it is very hard to even think about taking another injection( i take 3miu--3 times a week) but, then i look at my husband and i think it would be even harder to leave him. the treatment is very hard on me, it makes me extremely tired and i can not go out in public if there is even the slightest chance i could get exposed to anything. i have no immune system left and any illness could for me be very serious. i hurt all the time and have now developed neuropathy (nerve damage--that will never go away). my family refuses to believe that i am sick but, god bless my husband-- he has put up with 3 years of pain, mood swings,depression,and various other side effects without to much complaining. my main concern when i got sick was that people would start feeling sorry for me. i hate that!! i have always lived life to the fullest and i do not want people to treat me differently just because, i am sick. my advice is to find out how your mother feels about how she would like to be treated and then do the best you can to help her. just remember this is a big change for both of you and there are bound to be difficult days ahead but patience and love will go along way in her recovery. i truely wish the best for you both and hope that your journey together will be a good one. i just lost a very close friend (2-2-08) to cancer and i was asked how i felt about his dying and all i could say was that i hope i have as much dignity and grace as he showed in his final days. he was a very special person with such strong quiet grace. he is sorely missed.
Reply:I had diffuse large B-cell NHL in 2004. I was treated with CHOP, Rituxan, and Radiation. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't THAT bad. I wasn't in a lot of pain, but I had NO energy at all. I gained a lot of weight from the Prednisone [the P in CHOP] and radiation to the thyroid. Also, the chemo threw me into menopause. So, the aftereffects have been pretty bad for me, but that sure beats cancer!





What you should know:


http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls


It's all there, even online counselors you can talk to.





What I would do different. I would try to walk or be just a little more active. I laid around the whole time because I had no energy. I should have tried to take walks or something.





I wish you and you mother all the best. I was diagnosed at age 46, and I got through the treatment just fine. [truth is, I did have a couple setbacks but the bottom line is I made it]





Email me if you have any questions.


Best wishes!