Hi ive just joined the group. My 10yr old son has been recently been diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma and is due to start 5 days straight of chemo for the first time. He has lost a lot of weight very quickly and has almost completely lost his appetite. Its really worrying as he is a very slight boy naturally anyway but he is like a walking skeleton right now. im also worried as he is imuno suppresed due to having no spleen and ive heard this will only worsen with the chemo. Is loss of appetite normal with this cancer?
Hi again tara123 and well done navigating across to this corner of the community.
Let’s look for any group members to get back to you with any helpful first hand experiences.
Having no spleen will indeed make him more open to infection but my spleen just stopped working early on in my main chemo but on the whole I did ok infection wise.
Depending on where his HL is presenting may be affecting his appetite but once treatment starts this can often help especially if he gets steroids.
I am not aware of any post recently around someone your son’s age going through treatment.
You may want to check out the Lymphoma Action. Lymphoma Action is the main UK Lymphoma Specific Charity who have lots of good reliable information, videos..... basically all things Lymphoma....... pre, during and post treatment.
They run regular Support Platforms for caregivers and family…….. I highly recommend you check this out as I do know there are a few caregivers and family of children your son’s age in these groups.
They also have a great Lymphoma Action Buddy Service where you may be linked up with someone who has walked the same support journey.
They also have a Lymphoma helpline on 0808 808 5555 where you can talk with someone and get support - open every week day from 10 till 3.
Always around to chat ((hugs))
It will depend on the actual treatment he has as there are a few treatments used for HL……. but not sure about for a 10 year old.
I lost my hair about 2 weeks after my first cycle….. my treatment had me in hospital 6 days/5 nights so I lost my hair 8 days after my last bag of chemo.
By the time I went for my first chemo it looked like I had swallowed a brick!! It was something out of a Tom and Jerry film. My jaw had seized, my gums had swollen and were coming up to cover my teeth. I was having great difficulty eating and was living on a liquid diet and my breathing was being restricted and the pain was off the scale. I had an initial 15min blast of Vincristine and that got me through our family Christmas. It was amazing the difference that first a Chemo blast made to the point I actually had some Christmas dinner ((hugs))
