New to all this! Caught up in a riptide of emotions!!

Dear Jannie,

Sorry you find yourself here but welcome and I'm sure you'll find a great wealth of support on this site.

I have Low Grade Follicular Lymphoma and had R-Chop chemo in 2009 and most recently,Radiotherapy to be followed by Riuximab Maintanence Therapy starting next week. Hard not to worry and be concerned. I found things settled a little more for me once I started in treatment. I was greatly concerned about side effects in the begining but was relieved to come across some folk who had not had too bad an experience. Made me feel a little bit more hopeful. Treatment is a very individual experience and unfortunately you go in blind as to how your body will deal with it.

On a personal level, my experience was not nearly as bad as I expected and I know a great deal easier than some other folk on here have experienced. I manage to maintain a fairly normal lifestyle through my chemo, however, started to feel the effects more greatly after the half way mark and then had to make some adjustments.

I can't really comment on the Radiotherapy as I only had 2 sessions of low dose and I go on to Rituximab next week.

Just remember, that long list of side effects is covering all the bases, all of which you may not experience.

Hope all goes well with you and I'm sure you'll receive a bit more insight and other experiences from the good people on this site.

Take care

Rob

Thanks Rob, for taking the time to reply in such detail.  Hopefully it won't be too bad, as it is low grade after all.  When were you first diagnosed?  Hope you are feeling much better now.

Cheers

Jan

Hi Jan,

I was first diagnosed in April '09 (lump in the Groin) and started chemo in May, finishing August '09. I had experienced some symptoms prior to this but dismissed them as other things because I had no idea they were related. Chemo got rid of most of it and then went on to 'Watch and Wait'. September '12 saw a return of activity and the decision for my current treatment.

Life continued as normal for me after chemo, a little fatigued, but otherwise felt well and managed to keep healthy. Thankfully, this is still the case for me now.

I would suggest maybe posting in the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma group, a more targeted audience, although I am sure you'll see a few more replies here.

Take care

Rob

I had seven weeks of radiotherapy and chemo, the anti sick pills are good and they worked with me, the only trouble I had was heart burn and the night of the chemo not being able to sleep because of the steroid , but these are easily overcome with getting medication for heart burn and slipping pills I did feel tired but got through it which I'm sure you will too Hope this has helped a little xx

Thanks Emmaemily,

It really is helping to hear people's comments as regards their personal experiences, it gives me an idea of roughly what to expect, When were you diagnosed? How are you now?

Cheers,

Jan xx