Hi Janie,
My fiance had stage 4 NHL a little over a year ago. His first oncologist from an HMO wanted to do CHOP, but he went to get second and third opinions and both said that CHOP would do very little. It might slow down the cancer from spreading, but it would not cure him. His doctor checked to see if he would be eligible for a study at the National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was accepted into this study and immediately started chemo. The protocol was called EPOCH. They have been using it for about 6 years now and the survival rate is over 90%. After 8 cycles my fiance has been completely free of cancer.
It is important to ask your doctors to find out if you eligible for any studies, because these places that do the studies normally only take people recommended by physicians because they must meet specific criteria. These studies are completely free for the patient, but you get the best medical care and more because they need to take every possible necessary steps and precautions to make sure you remain within the bounds of the study.
NIH/NCI is on the cutting edge. They are one of the world leaders in cancer research.
My fiance and I can't say enough wonderful things about the doctors and nurses and the EPOCH treatment. Please look into other alternatives besides CHOP. I wish you and your husband the very best!!
Non Hodgkins Lymphoma......High Grade B cell
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