Is treatment for DLBCL too harsh for a frail 95 year old?

Hi  and welcome to this corner of the community.

So sorry to read about the journey your mum is and indeed the challenges the family are facing.

The Rituximab your mum had is not chemotherapy but a clever "targeted" cancer therapy and most folks of all ages tend to do ok on it.

Unlike FL being a slow growing low grade NHL, DLBCL is a high grade fast growing aggressive NHL and needs to be treated aggressively with R-CHOP being the normal route and tends to be a big hit on the body.

I have talked with a few 80+ year olds who have had the full R-CHOP and some on R-mini-CHOP, some did ok some not so good. Most folks were in a good-ish state of health going into treatment so this helped a lot.

So with regards to how well your mum could get in with this treatment is very specific to your mum’s case and her medical team will know this well.

I had Power of Attorney for my late mum who died last November but did not have to deal with anything relating to the Mental Capacity Act so I have no idea about this one.

You may want to call the Macmillan Support Services on 0808 808 00 00 - most services are open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week Clicking here to see what is available.

This service provides lots of legal advise, cancer information, emotional support, financial guidance or just a listening ear.

So the bottom line it’s safe to say that going through R-mini-CHOP would be significantly more demanding then the Rituximab your mum had and it is all down to quality of life.

Lets see if any of the other group members have first hand experience that can help you at this difficult time.

Always around to chat more ((hugs))

Hi and sorry to read about your mums FL transforming and the situation you find yourselves in due to her dementia. The are 2 types of power of attorney, one is for financial matters and the other is for health, very few people do both, if you have both then you may want to take advice on what decisions you can and cannot make from the office of the public guardian. If its just finance then the doctors have followed the route they have to, was it a DOL's depravation of liberty form they completed? or something similar?

Have you spoken to macmillan to talk this through as that would be a good starting point and have you had time to talk through the paperwork filled in by the hospital so you do understand its implications as it is really important each stage of the process is explained to you.

John  

Hi Mike

Thankyou for the information - and hugs!

Thanks for explaining about Rituximab being a targeted therapy, and not a chemo as such. Having gone away and done my research, I now appreciate that RCHOP would be very hard on my Mum, and not like the Rituximab that she breezed through.

It now seems that palliative care is the only reasonable route in Mum's case.

I did get to the bottom of what the Mental Capacity Act forms were that the doctors filled in. They related to the tests that Mum had done when it appeared that there was a new growth of lymphoma. The forms referred only to those tests and to nothing else. They had to be filled in because Mum could not consent personally to having the tests done.

I did have a chat with Macmillan about Mum's case and they were most helpful, emphasising quality over quantity.

So thanks for your help.

Love the Mandela quote - I very much admired him.

Hugs back!

Thanks, John.

I did find out what the paperwork was - it related only to the investigative tests that Mum did not have capacity to consent to.

I have Power of Attorney for both health and financial matters, though I have never really had to make health related decisions for Mum.

Hi again  it’s hard to come to terms and accept how your mum’s health has developed and deal with palliative care.

When it comes to the practical challenges of supporting your mum you may benefit from talking with others caring for family so can I recommend that you join our supportive Carers only and Supporting someone with incurable cancer groups where you will connect with others supporting family.

I am pleased that you found talking with our support teams helpful.

Make every moment count and continue to make memories ((hugs))

Hi, good to read you have some answers and whilst not where you want to be it sounds like you have a much clearer picture and understand what's best for your mum, make sure you get the help and support you need so you can spend time with her and make the most of that time.

take care

John