Radiotherapy

Hi sueCC and I think that this is your first post in this corner of the community. Looking at your profile I see that you and your family are not new to cancer……. but when it comes to Lymphomas like Follicular Lymphoma you are entering a different world with regards to how treatment is given.

I was diagnosed way back in 1999 at 43 with a rare, incurable but treatable other type of Low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma eventually reaching Stage 4a in late 2013 so although my Lymphoma ‘type’ is different I do appreciate the challenges of this journey rather well.

I actually don’t like the term Watch and Wait….. I much prefer the term Active Monitoring, Low grade NHLs should only be treated when the treatment would be most effective….. as for the different treatments the selection will depend on where the NHL is presenting and how developed the areas are.

I was basically on Active Monitoring for 14 years before I needed the big gun treatments (although I was being treated as though I had bad Psoriasis as I have a rare skin NHL) but over those years my team actually kept an eye on how my condition was presenting and were able to identify the best time to use treatments.

My first big gun treatment was 5 zaps of radiotherapy….. chemotherapy would have made no difference. Then a few months later I had 6 cycles of R-EPOCH…… but this was only opening the door for me to go in and have Stem Cell Transplant……. the story goes on from there but you can see the full story through the link at the bottom.

The best example as to how lymphoma is ever so different from other cancers is in the staging. Staging in Lymphoma is rather different and unlike most other cancers like Kidney, Lung, Breast….. where a high stage number like stage 4 is a poor prognosis, in Lymphoma it’s not. I was stage 4a back in 2013 and it made no difference to my outcomes.

Staging in Lymphomas identifies 1) Where the Lymphoma is presenting in the body (it can be anywhere) 2) What is the best treatment approach and best treatment type for your presentation and 3) How long your treatment needs to be.

The best information on all things Lymphoma can be found in on the Lymphoma Action website. Lymphoma Action is the only UK Lymphoma Specific Charity who have lots of good reliable information, videos..... basically all things Lymphoma....... pre, during and post treatment.

The following link will unpack Lymphoma and the challenges is brings as there are over 60 types of Lymphoma and one size treatment dies not fit them all.

Happy to answer questions or just to chat ((hugs))

Hi sueCC,

I have been through a number of Follicular NHL treatments, R-chop, Radiotherapy, Rituximab.

Treatments are based on individual presentation of the cancer in any given person.

I understand that my first line of treatment was not typically the route they would have followed.

Regarding radiotherapy, my consultant advised me that radiotherapy had proven particularly effective in the case of treating FNHL.

Sorry you find yourself here but all the best in the road ahead.

Rob

Radiotherapy is good for when there is just one place with lymphoma. When it's all over the place as mine was they use chemo which treats the whole body. Mine was in lots of places so I had chemo, that got rid of it all except for a bit left in one place so that was then zapped with radiotherapy. Watch and wait usually means it's in more than one place but chemo not necessary just yet.