Can you provide a documented answer regarding non-hodgkins lymphoma and help w/ treatment and side effects?
I’m a 49yr. old male w/ non-hodgeskins b-cell, stage 4 lymphoma. Have been treated 6x w/ rytuxin ending 8/25/07. Cancer was substantially reduced. However it came back by 9/20/07. On 10/8/07 rec’vd 3 days continuous chemo of carboplatin, Ifex and rytuxin. In 3 days have lost weight, mostly muscle mass, had difficulty breathing, and severe drop in blood pressure causing two 40 second blackouts. The previous 6 rytuxin treatments had relatively no ill side effects. Also have cancer in the bone marrow, which has not been treated to date.
I’m trying to find out how I may aggressively combat this cancer while also treating the adverse side effects indicated above. It is important for me to continue my work so that I can support my family and keep my excellent medical benefits. Deepest thanks.
Tagged with: adverse side effects • b cell • blackouts • bone marrow • cancer • carboplatin • cell stage • chemo • difficulty breathing • drop in blood pressure • ifex • lymphoma • medical benefits • muscle mass • stage 4
Filed under: blood pressure treatment
http://www.rituxan.com/lymphoma/AboutNHL/TreatmentOfAgressiveNHL.jsp I had Rituxan in combination with CHOP chemo for agressive,large, diffuse B cell lymphoma which was throughout my lymph system , but not in my bone marrow. It was eight sessions with each given every three weeks. After the six month period of treatment, there was only a remnant of the largest tumor remaining. A portion of the CHOP treatment is vincristine and I had to stop that treatment after five sessions because it was causing nerve damage which I still have today in my legs and feet. I then had radiation to the largest tumor alone for six weeks or 30 sessions. My chemo was completed in Feb. of 2004 and my catscan of Sept., 2007, still shows no evidence of lymphoma.
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1080329098.pdf The Lymphoma Society usually has the latest treatments available at their site. This may be of help to you. The Lymphoma Society also may be of help to you with any assistance you may need.
Has your doctor prescribed Aranesp or any other treatments that can boost your system and combat the effects of the chemo? http://www.aranesp.com/professional/prescribing_information.jsp There are also other brands available but this is the one I was given every two weeks in shot form that was very helpful.
Have you checked with your employer concerning medical leave which would not jeopardize your job or medical coverage?
My regards and thoughts are with you .
It’s very hard to avoid the side effects of treatment that is strong enough to help you. Your doctors are probably going to suggest a bone marrow transplant, which may put you out of commission for a while. You will want to be sure to keep yourself hydrated with clean, pure water (no tap water), take a good quality vitamin supplement and consume only organic proteins and vegetables. Stay away from any sort of chemicals such as a pesticide, herbicide, fertilizer, etc., while you are healing, especially.
Go online to the ACS website and see what the latest treatments are. I found Reglan helped with nausea, as did "italian ice" cups found in the grocery store. My oncologist recommended marijuana pills, but they didn’t help me much. Rest is very important. If possible, you might try to work from home for a few days after each treatment.
A healthy outlook is also important. I recommend reading, "Love, Medicine and Miracles" by Bernie Segal, M.D. It really helped me get through my illness. It’s available on Amazon.com and other sites, by the way.
Good luck with this fight, friend. Blessings on you.
Well, you shouldnt be working while going through all this, for one. You need to be able to rest to help your strength get back.
I have been treated for aml for the last 3 years and the chemo drugs are simular to the ones used in your treatment.
Are you taking any blood pressure meds? I am on Coreg bc of the damage the meds did to my heart, but while I was going through my last treatment they needed to adjust my dosage and even took me off for a while bc I was sleeping a lot and bp was staying low. Everytime i stood up I had a nice drop and a couple of black outs.
Now, whats with this leukemia you say you have that isnt being treated? Leukemia needs to be treated fast, whether chronic or acute.
Are you eating properly? Those nice dizzy spells can also be caused by a lack of carbs in your diet. Do you have a sugar monitor to test?
The treatment I would suggest would be a stem cell transplant. This will treat the lymphoma and the leukemia. A cord blood transplant seems to be the best, and is the route I choose.
You will loose weight no matter what, and even though you are weak, at this point you probably are loosing more fat than muscle. Try light excercise such as walking to prevent muscle loss and infection in the lungs.
Marijuana can be used to help with nausa and appetite. if you go that way make sure you discuss with your doc and make sure you are taking an anti fungal med.
If you have medical insurance now then even if you quit working you would still be eligible for Cobra coverage for 18 months providing the same level of insurance. Also you could apply for SSDI and receive financial benefits plus you would be eligible for Medicare after 24 months and possibly sooner depending on your financial status.
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html
http://www.ssa.gov/disability/
You need to put first things first and get yourself healed up rather than continuing to try and do two things at once and probably doing neither as well as you would like. I hope you have some savings because this is the time you need to be spending them while you treat your cancer aggressively and then rest while your body heals.
good luck to you and your family
I am a library science student and I believe I have found the documentation you are looking for. With your criteria of NHL, B-cell relapse and potential transplant eligibility, treatment with rituximab(Rytuxin) plus ifosfamide(Ifex), carboplatin and etoposide (R-ICE) is indicated.
Alternative treatments (that may be less effective/with greater side effects) would be DHAP (dexamethasone, cisplatin, and cytarabine), or ESHAP (etoposide, methylprednisolone, high-dose cytarabine, and cisplatin).
Links to full text articles:
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/17/suppl_4/iv31
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/14/suppl_1/i17
http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/full/103/10/3684
http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=1042-8194&volume=48&issue=7&spage=1332