I was diagnosed yesterday with Follicular Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, it was a shock that it was exactly the same condition my mother died from. I’m starting Chemotherapy next week, but came out of the consultation with so many questions I didn’t get chance to ask, like How many round of chemotherapy? and what stage the lymphoma was graded. Can I ask these questions when the treatment starts?
Hi again Ice cream girl and it's good that you now have a very clear diagnosis...... but it is rather coincidental that your mum had the same condition.
As you may know Follicular Lymphoma is the most common types of Low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma) ……. and on the whole very treatable.
The Staging in Lymphoma is rather different from sold tumour 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
3) How long your treatment needs to be.
You certainly can ask questions at your next appointment but were you given the name and contact details of a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)?......... as these are the people you can call and ask these questions during normal working hours.
There are different types of treatment - were you told the actual name of the chemo?
As you get ready for your treatment you may want to look at this link.....
Top tips for the day of your chemotherapy
Always around to chat and help out ((hugs))
