Hi I have recently been diagnosed with bladder, MALT, lymphoma so looking for information. Have been told it will be treated with antibiotics. Has anyone else had this treatment 
Hi JAY59 and a warm welcome to this corner of the Community although I am sorry to see you joining us. I am Mike and I help out around our various Lymphoma groups.
I don’t have MALT lymphoma but I was diagnosed way back in 1999 at 43 with a rare, incurable but treatable type of slow growing Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (CTCL) eventually reaching Stage 4a in late 2013 so although my Lymphoma ‘type’ is different I do appreciate the challenges of this journey rather well.
As you are 'just' on antibiotics and as you have a slow growing (Low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma) you most likely are on what is called Active Monitoring (Watch and Wait) as this is often the first step...... although I had a rare skin NHL and was having skin treatments as I basically had bad Psoriasis in the early days......... I was also on Active Monitoring for 14 years before my condition developed to the point where full on treatments were required.
I was also on antibiotics in those early days...... this was not used to treat my Lymphoma but as my immune system was busy keeping my Lymphoma under control, infections could sneak in through the back door so the antibiotics were there to reduce the effects of infections.
There are a few group members who have MALT so lets see if they are still looking into the site.
Always around to help more or just to chat
When it comes to cancers...... Lymphomas are in a different category compared to most other cancers.
Take the subject of Staging - in Lymphomas it is rather different and unlike most other 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 and 3) How long your treatment needs to be.
Knowledge and understanding is power when it comes to Lymphomas so this link Questions to ask your medical team about Lymphoma will allow you to set out your top questions to ask your Heamatologist so you better understand what this journey is going to look like.
