Side effects

Hi and welcome to our corner of the Community but sorry to hear about your dad.

So side-effects is one of the very big questions and in reality he may have some side-effects but like others, have none to talk about.

Every person is different and will react different. You don’t say what type of NHL he has and what chemo he is having - this all makes a difference.

You can hit my Community name to see my story....... but my first chemo R-EPOCH was over 6 cycles, each treatment lasted 120hrs so was in hospital for 5 days/nights so had over 750hrs all together and did not have any real problems. My very last chemo 1 1/2 years later put me in ICU - it can be that different. But these medical teams are good and can deal with whatever comes along.

These are some links to some information about the most common ones.

Nausea can happen, but he must not suffer in silence - talk with his team as it can take time to find the best meds.

Fatigue will build up over the cycles but some basic but regular activity can help overcome this a lot.

Food during treatment he needs to watch what he is eating especially when his immune system is down so he needs to follow a ‘pregnant’ diet ;) 

Avoiding Infections infection is very important, look out for the signs and he should have a chemo line number to call if he is not sure - a thermometer is an essential tool in this area.

He also needs to drink lots of water (2-3Lts a day) to flush out the toxins released by the chemo and protect his kidneys.

I was stage 4 NHL but in blood cancer this just highlights what treatment is needed and for how long..... do not see this in the same light as in solid tumour cancers, blood cancer is very treatable.

You may want to look at starting your profile as it helps a lot.

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Always around to help out as best as I can.

Thank you for your response. My dad has Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma. His first treatment was the R-CHOP which he will be getting every 3 weeks for 18weeks. 

So far other than really dry skin, he has not presented with any other symptoms. The nausea seems to be managed by medications but he is an extremely picky eater which has made things quite interesting. Definitely trying to get him used to following a pregnant diet, but he is a very stubborn 70yr old

will fill out the profile 

Sounds like things are going ok and let’s hope it continues this way.

We do have a dedicated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Group so you may want to think about putting up a post in this group as well. with over 80 types of Lymphoma there is no definitive way things will go but R-CHOP has been used fir years and is very effective.

The loss of appetite can be a challenge so watch out for putting large plates of food in front of him as this can turn him off from eating, little and often is a good way forward and try to keep his protein intake stable. If he likes homemade soups this is a good way of getting protein in him.

Always around to help out as best as I can.

Hi just to add that often effects are cumulative, I always remember my first treatment and thought it was a walk in the park and things progressively became more challenging and by the end of the 7th cycle was completely wiped out, so take it a day at a time and have help ready for him when he needs it.

I was stage 4b 11 years ago, so take heart from that.

John 

Hello,

I had r-epoch but my friend on hospital had r-chop and we both had to have the injections to get blood levels up. After a week or so i got bone pain everytime. I didn't know what that was at first but is back pain. Well your spine. It feels like it jerks everytime you get up or sit down. Or move lol. I found it scary the first time because i thought i hurt my back badly. I thought it was the new bed so sold the mattress topper! But it happened everytime. It is not pleasant but ok once you get used to it and lasts a few days. 

If he does require G-CSF Injections to help his blood counts recover he should try taking some Piriton Tabs during these times as rather bizarrely it helps the bone pain!!!!

I was on the injections for a few months after my second Stem Cell Transplant and the Antihistamine helped a lot.

Thanks John, that’s helpful and in line with what we expect. We are on day 7 today and it seems that there are some slight symptoms beginning to show. Dad was unable to sleep last night due to pain in his hips and legs. Was uncomfortable enough to want to take painkillers but he is up and taking a walk enjoying the sunshine this morning. 

he definitely has had the mentality of a “walk in the park” these first 6 days, so we are helping prepare him mentally to just take each day as it comes and to listen to his body. 

You might find that the energy wears off when the steroids stop. I got all sorts done for those five days but not much after. I didn't worry about any special diet although I know some hospitals give a list of things to avoid. Mine didn't so I ate what I fancied.

The worst side effect that almost everyone gets is constipation for which I drank orange juice rather than taking medication for it but the hospital can prescribe something if necessary.

RCHOP is certainly doable and I found it wasn't as bad as I imagined it was going to be.