Hey Everyone,
I did have a 1st blog but i dont know where it went :S anyway..
The lowdown is..
I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma back in March this year (2009) i have just finished 6 sessions of RCHOP chemotherapy about 5 weeks ago,
I had a pet scan to see the result of things last week and..
Was hoping for remission but the tumour in my liver has gone and the one by my kidneys has gone but there is still some left infront of my heart in my chest.
So i went to Haemotology clinic Thursday just gone, and my oncologist told me i will be admitted next week for 4 to 5 days for High Dose Chemo :( then go home to rest for 3 weeks, then back in again for another 4 to 5 days for another dose!
Then another pet scan, and maybe after all that might have to go to London for stem cell transplant (which totally confuses me)
I must admit after everything we've been through i was kind of hoping for an all clear but i clearly need this extra treatment as i have had awful night head sweats lately and a lot of dizzyness.
If anyone else has had high-dose chemo please tell me what the worst side effects are as the oncologist said they can be severe, including mouth swelling and ulcers not forgetting the dreaded nausea and vomiting :/
My good ol' mum is staying with me at the moment so she can be here for my 14 yr old daughter when i go in hospital and she is currently cooking the biggest fry up you have ever seen (Hey I'm making the most of my freedom before next week!!) :D
FormerMember
You sound like you're on a similar 'ride' to me. I've had 8 x R-Chop and am starting 3 cycles of IVE on Monday with a stem cell transplant to follow. I knew it was going to take alot to shift my tumour because it was so big by the time I got diagnosed - maybe that makes it easier to 'go along with'?!? I don't know... I'm at James cook in Middlesbrough and will go to Newcastle for stem cell transplant.
What kind of chemo is it? Maybe we can compare notes:D
Even though im bald im still a "blonde" what does IVE stand for? lol
and i have no idea of the chemo im having yet he just said it will be very harsh with severe side effects.
(and there's me thinking hmm... Rchop was bad enough)
Still waiting for the letter to see what day i go in next week prob tues or weds, but as soon as im out next week will post a big fat blog (if im up to it) good luck hun xx
argh sounds like you're really going thro it hun ....it must be devastating to hear the chemo hasn't rid you of all the tumors.... i finished my radiotherapy yesterday as my lymphoma is isolated to my groin but i'm really anxious about the follow up scan which is not till december ...it feels like a life time away but the radiation apparently carries on working for 10 weeks so if i was scanned now would look a hell of a lot worse than i originally did, according to my oncologist anyway .....i cant imagine being told then that it hadn't got rid of my cancer so i really feel for you..... another thing i cant quite get my head round is the fact we could all fight this with everything we got only to relapse a few months down the line :O( seems unfair....anyway i just wanted to wish you all the luck in the world next week i've got everything crossed that it will be a total success for you and you wont need the stem cell transplant....
with huge cyber hugs trudy xxxxxx
ps ...hope you enjoyed the large fry up mmmmm my mouths watering lol xxx
I had hodgkins lymphoma, my first treatment was 6 months ABVD, then i had scans and it was still there. I then took pneumonia for four months and was told at one stage they didn't think I was going to make it. Once my chest cleared I had 3 cycles of GEM P and in the middle of this I had my stem cell harvest in preparation for transplant later in the year. I had high dose treatment called BEAM for 6 days in a row last year and then had my transplant on the 7th day. I was in for five weeks in total. The worst side effects that I had were having a really sore mouth (I couldn't really eat for 2 weeks), sickness was really bad as well and then just having no energy. I was put on a syringe driver to give me constant painkillers n anti sickness to deal with it.
Although it may be hard at the time stick with it, I'm now 10 months in remission and I'm slowly getting stronger and getting my life back. I am now working with other young people with cancer through a thing called jimmyteens.tv. If you go to www.jimmyteens.tv and go to belfast/claire henderson you can see videos I made when I had my high dose treatment.
