Hello, I’ll keep this brief. I know we could all write a novel regarding our own story! 55 year old female from Nebraska. Stage 1. No treatment for the last 3 years because there were no secondary problems. I now have a severe secondary problem which is lesions on my pelvis and femur. My femur fractured on Dec 13 (lesser trochanter fracture). Chemo is recommended and I am terrified and nauseated at the mere thought of it. I always vowed I would NEVER do it…but…I am housebound because of this secondary problem so I need to do something extreme :( The chemo/immuno therapy drugs recommended are bendamustine/rituximab. I live clean, eat clean, and am extremely holistic. But I never used to drink water. Increasing water intake in the last 8 months has been great, but, it happened too late to mitigate the years of not hydrating properly. Our lymph systems need water to function properly.
Why am I terrified of chemo? My mom had colon cancer and was on almost continuous treatment for almost ten years. The strong, funny, brilliant woman that I knew disappeared and finally died in 2014. I’m also ultra sensitive to chemicals. I cant even take Advil (ibuprofen) or Tylenol (acetaminophen) because it makes my kidneys ache terribly. I cant take steroids…they make my spleen ache terribly. I cant be around yard chemicals…they give me a migraine and make me sick. I can taste the chemicals in processed food. So, I am so scared of how my body is going to respond to the bendamustine and rituximab. Plus, the first treatment is the big one. A good friend told me, “Stop calling it poison. Words have power. Find a new word!” Maybe I need to adjust my thinking, but it’s hard! Any suggestions on some new words for me? 
Hi SeVen and welcome to this corner of the Community. I am Mike and I help out around our Lymphoma groups. I don't have Follicular Lymphoma but was diagnosed way back in 1999 with a different low grade, rare, incurable but treatable type of NHL Stage 4a so I know this journey rather well.
I see you are in Nebraska USA so a warm welcome across the big pond. The first thing to understand is the Macmillan Community run by Macmillan Cancer Support is a UK based charity too you will find 99% of all the information will revolve round our UK Health System. Our National Health Service (NHS) is very different for the US system....... but the drugs used are often the same.
The R&B treatment is used a lot as first line treatment. I do understand you concerned especally when you have a family member who passed away from their cancer.
From reading your posts the first and very important thing I pick up is hydration or lack of it...... and the issues with drugs like ibuprofen..... if you don't drink your kidneys will complain........ with any medication.
These drugs are very clever and as my good Pharmacist friend said to me on the day I started my treatment - see it as educated bleach...... it cleans as it goes........ and it's not meant to make you ill..... it's meant to evict your cancer from your body. But sometimes it's hard dealing with unwanted squatters so my mat get some bruises during the eviction process.
I had 6 cycles of 5 days in hospital so 120hrs IV and over 750hrs of chemo during my first main treatment and this did included Rituximab....... I had no real problems with this........ and was drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water every day and 8 years on I still do........ I did go on to have further treatments (hit my Community name to see my long story)
Happy to chat more ((hugs))
Hi again SeVen you are on the whole going to see more posts that lean towards the positive rather then the negative.
I think that once you have been through your treatment your initial fears and anxiety are replaced with appreciation and thankfulness that there are treatments that are effective and although our type of Lymphoma is incurable it is very treatable resulting in positive outcomes...... unlike many other cancers.
You will see from my community name Thehighlander I live in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland with the accent to go with it 
It's good that you have reached out (across the pond) and are getting some of your questions answered as this helps get your mind round these treatments and will help you move this forward.
I find it amazing the amount of folks from the US and other places around the world that connect in with the Macmillan Community. People often say that there is just not anything like this where they are - hard to believe to be honest but glad that we are here to help and support.
Our National Health Service (NHS) was established back in 1948 and has been serving the UK well over these 74 years providing care for all at their point of need regardless of background or wealth.
((hugs))
I would love to visit Scotland some time. Such an incredibly beautiful country! Maybe after all this Covid crap is nothing but a bad memory… 
Good that you are making your list…… and let’s look for answers that helps you navigate this better.
Nebraska sounds amazing. The Highlands can be wide open rugged mountains and beautiful glens in one drive…… but no Mountain Lions….. just haggis
What type of device are you using?
I am using my iPhone for this post and I get my paragraph breaks by hitting ‘return’
I mostly use my MacBook Pro on Google and have no issues but I am sure the Macmillan Admin team will get back to you soon on your technical support post.
Yes the Haggis is indeed a food and go way back to a time when Rowle were so poor and hungry that nothing went to waste.
Where we stay we are only 10min drive from the shores of Loch Ness the place where Scotland's rarest water based beasty can be found
