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.

I was recently diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma and sometime in the near future I’ll be meeting with an oncologist and starting treatment. I want to quit smoking to help my situation, but I don’t know the best way to go about it. Quitting cold turkey would obviously be a good idea, but I honestly don’t think I’m capable of doing that. I’ve used patches successfully before, but it took a matter of months to quit that way. I’m not very familiar with nicotine gum, prescription stop-smoking aids, or anything else that may be out there. I’d like to quit a.s.a.p. to avoid becoming sicker during treatment. I’m also concerned about interactions between a stop-smoking aid and chemo/radiation therapy, if my method of quitting did need to take place while I was being treated. Any suggestions or info would mean a lot…