Rituxan maintenance

Strong-girl
Strong-girl Member Posts: 1
edited November 2020 in General Cancer
I’m considering stopping the RM treatment. I have prolonged side effects and treatment time is as slow as they can go with added dose of Benadryl. Anyone experiencing same? I’ve had full chemo, am in remission and on maintenance for 2 years, have completed 3 treatments.

Comments

  • po18guy
    po18guy Member Posts: 329
    edited November 2020
    Follicular or DLBCL or? Either way, you are looking at an accelerated relapse if you stop maintenance. And the sad fact is that it can be increasingly difficult to knock down with each relapse. Maintenance also provides time - time for new therapies to arrive. Less toxic and/or more effective therapies. And that bed-time is not exactly wasted. You can nap, read, meditate, pray, do certain hobbies, discuss life with others, get to know the staff, etc.

    For five years, from 2009-2014, I received a drug which was also believed to suppress the lymphoma. After check-in and the hour wait for labs to be complete, it was a four hour drip, plus some connect and disconnect times thrown in. Often it was an 8-hour day. But, that is the "cost of living" as Ii see it.

    Except for a 2-3 month period of watch and wait, I have been in constant treatment for over 12 years. Done day by day, it is doable. If you enjoy life, if you love others and they love you - it is worth whatever time and trouble it costs to remain as healthy as you can.

    That is how I see it.
  • Beaujingles
    Beaujingles Member Posts: 6
    edited November 2020
    Sorry, some folks with cancer would gladly trade places. Keep up with treatments, stay the course, you never know when a new therapy will be available. Thanks, po, appreciate your response.
  • Hilkei
    Hilkei Member Posts: 2
    edited November 2020
    I had R-CHOP in 2013 followed by 2 years Rituxan maintenance. My doctor took me off it at that time because that was the protocol. Within a year my MCL was back. I am now on Calquence, and it is a wonder drug. Two pills a day. Very little side effects for me at first, but my energy is diminishing over time and I’m on it now almost 3 years. Everything is slowly getting harder to do, but my outlook is still positive and I do what I can when I can. Thankfully my husband is a saint and helps me with everything. When I was first diagnosed with stage 4 MCL, the statistical life expectancy was 5 years and I am now going on my 8th year so anything is possible!

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