Hi everyone,
It's been a rather while since I last posted here. I was diagnosed with Type IIA Hodgkin's lymphoma in April 2020 and have been in full remission since October 2020 following 6 cycles of ABVD treatment (Bleomycin was dropped after 2 cycles following metabolic response through interim PET/CT scan in June).
I have been coping well and over the past few years have been living my life well with my ups and downs - I don't think the idea of a relapse has ever left my head... The past month I have started feeling a general itch all over my body. This has happened again in the past year or two but went away (I think I was having similar fears back in 2022 and 2021...). I can't help but worry that this may be a symptom of a relapse... I don't have any other symptoms, I feel generally great and I am looking ahead but I fear at the same time...
I am due to have my general review with my haematologist next week but thought to post here to see what other people think. I have been in a rather lot of stress lately and this may be related?
Any piece of advice or re-assurance will be most welcome.
Thank you,
Manos
Hi Manos and good to hear from you again. As you may remember I have a different type of Lymphoma (CTCL) and been on my journey for over 24 years.
For the past 6 years I have been supporting on this Community but also on the various Lymphoma Action - Support Platforms. The post treatment Itchy Skin question comes up a lot.
For me I had a skin NHL so itchy skin was part of my life so I am not the best person to give you an answer based on my first hand experience.
But from talking with many others over the years, yes the worst case scenario is relapse..... but you have had the skin issues happen before over the past few years with no relapse so it suggests that like many people post treatments, your skin is now very sensitive and reactive.
My main consultant for the first 14 years of my journey was a very respected Dermatologists and we had long chats about how the skin reacts in various circumstances......... stress being a big trigger....... to the point in April 2011 I actually took early retirement from my demanding teaching job as the stress was making my skin worse as the more stressed I got my immune system would get confused and this allowed my condition to progress..... obviously I had a skin Lymphoma so we are not comparing apples with apples.
The treatment you have had like many used for Lymphoma can play with the bodies metabolic balance and can make our skin more reactive. I know a good number of people who post Lymphoma treatments did develop various skin conditions like Psoriasis, Eczema...... even my wife (no cancer) started developing Lichen Planus when she got stressed at work.
My Dermatologist suggested that when I was working I should keep a pictorial diary along with a 1 to 10 stress level rating at each picture so I could track and find triggers for any skin issues and this highlighted the truth to me.
See you Hematologist and raise the question and let's look for a simple answer to be found.
