Husband Just Diagnosed - Lymphomas Message Board

klk63 · 09-05-2008, 02:43 PM

My husband was recently diagnoses with large b cell lymphoma and started chemo on Wednesday. I am just looking to find any information I can.

SallyD · 09-05-2008, 05:29 PM

Hi! my name is sally, and my dad had his last chemo for large b cell lymphoma in Feb. he is doing fantastic! He is 75, and is well on his way to full recovery..(he just joined a senior aerobics class at the gym!

I was right there beside him the whole way through.

Is your husband having r-chop? Chemo can be very scary...your husband will get very ill before he starts feeling better again..my advice would be to keep him as healthy as possible, good food, minimum exposure to any germs..(shaking hands, being around large groups of people, even the shopping cart handles at the store.) be a germ-a phobic!)

be positive, even when he feels like crap. the danger time is about halfway between chemos, that is when his white blood cells will be thier lowest..a fever is a sign he may be getting an infection..my father had 3 hospital stays for that. (and every time he went against his will) so you may have to make some descisions there.

I'm sure you can do a search on this board for my previous posts.
and there are ALOT of people here who have been there-done that..and alot of good advice...you can even come here to whine...we all have been.

I stop in from time to time, but I'm not on here alot anymore..(thank God.)

Dad had tumors in his sinus passages, on his head, (it had even gone through his skull, but not into his brain) he had a large tumor on his right arm, which ate bone, he had a titanium rod inserted), and another near his knee.

My father is a walking miracle, the doctors at the cleveland clinic didn't give us much hope...and he has been given the all clear from his oncologist to head to florida for the winter! he is an amazing man.

So, in conclusion, this is not a death sentence...many many people are walking, breathing proof.

Learn as much as you can, not only so you know what the doctors are talking about, but you will know everything you can about this ugly disease.

take care..sally

klk63 · 09-07-2008, 07:12 AM

He had first of six r-chop on Wednesday. It went quite well. Will he get worse the more treatments he has? Can you tell me what I need to look for as far as side effects he might have to go to the hospital for

pinkmada · 09-07-2008, 10:53 AM

hi,
im sorry about your husbands diagnosis, sally is right however, this is not a death sentance.
unfortunatly everyone seems to have different side effects to the chemo. the most common are nausea and vomitting which they will hopefully have prescribed anti-emetics to help with that. my advice is for the first few days after each treatment to just take them every 4 hours even if he is not feeling nausous. and feeling very tired. again i think most people would say it is the first few days after each treatment that this is worst. although i have spoken to people where the felt most tired a few days before the next treatment. is it 2 weekly cycles he is having? i had ABVD chemo for hodgkins and it was every 2 weeks so usually the second week i felt fine maybe just a little more tired. i had scary cravings for milk, vanilla milkshakes and meat. i gained 3 stone because i was continuously hungry and i was advised just to eat by my onc! again some people dont feel like eating anything and lose a lot of weight. when i first started treatment i had very bad constipation though the doctors said that this was due to my sudden change in eating. (i hadnt eaten for about 6 months). a lot of people find that they have some sort of pattern of side effects between each treatment. i wasnt so lucky but a lot of people knew that they would be nauseous on days 1-3 and tired days 1-6 after every cycle so they could plan around it.
anyway, good luck and take care. i wish your husband all the best.
amanda
x

SallyD · 09-07-2008, 07:07 PM

I think my dads biggest complaint was that all his mucus membranes dried up..his mouth, nose, and bum all had major sores..

Dad had trouble chewng hard things and things like meat because of the soreness. He had alot of soft foods..and not alot of appitite... The oncologist watches the weight closely.

The effects of chemo are accumulating..my dad felt worse as they progressed..

towards the end he was getting bad migranes.

My dad always felt the worst after he came off of the steroids..about day 10 after chemo. he had chemo every three weeks..and R-chop is VERY aggressive. After dad's second chemo, the visible tumors were almost gone..they shrink quickly.

Just watch for sudden fevers, that could be a sign of infection. Keep him as healthy as possible.

dad scraped his hand on the fireplace and developed a blood infection from it..(one hospital stay)
If he developes a fever, call the oncologist..(there is always one on call day or night) they will give you further direction.

Take care and keep us updated. Sal