CharlotteB

Hi Charlotte, did you ever come up with an alternative or solve the reaction problem? Hope you are doing well.
Andy

Hi Charlotte, hope you are doing well. You should be around treatment #4? Hope you are doing better with the reaction issues. Hang in there.
Andy

Oh boy! Can I relate to the allergy to Rituxan. I asked my oncology nurse "If Rituxan is my friend, why does it hate me?" She answered, "Rtx does not hate you, you two just disagree." I answered, " well, I wish we would start agreeing!" After just 15 minutes, I broke out in terrible hives. I ran temperature and coughed. One of my treatments caused back pain. Things got better each treatment, so that very few reactions happened after treatment 3. Best wishes to you in your treatment. Hoping that you and Rituxan agree next time!

Hi Charlotte, how you doing? Hope your treatments aren't getting you down too much. #3 next week right? Will be 1/2 way through. Hang in there. I have my last radiation tomorrow.
Andy

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter

Hi CharlotteB!

I was diagnosed with B cell follicular NHL 5 years ago, started treatment with only Rituxan this past August. I had 4 rounds; 1 infusion per week and then a follow up scan in October. All of the large lymph nodes decreased in size so I have been on Rituxan maintenance since then. I get 1 infusion every 2 months. Another scan in January showed further decrease in size of my lymph nodes; all except one, and that one remained the same size.

I feel great and my friends here on WhatNext have been wonderful. I have been in contact with Andy too. He's a great guy!

Here's to winning our battle!
Eric

Welcome Aboard.
Check out this Article below.
Also check out the site Chris Beat Cancer AND his facebook page.
Just a different point of view and some good info.
Information is powerful.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/preventing-and-reversing-cancer-naturally-anticancer-diet-shopping-list?utm_source=www.GreenMedInfo.com&utm_campaign=56de99d27b-Greenmedinfo&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_193c8492fb-56de99d27b-87148481

Good Luck!
Barry

Welcome to the group. You will find lots of support here, and always an answer to whatever questions you might have.

Welcome to the family! You've found some of the most supportive people in the world.

I see you've done a great job of filling out your experiences. If you want to get the most of the site, check out the questions section of the site. You can lurk in the shadows and just read the questions, post questions, or even answer questions for someone who is struggling with something you've already been through.

I'm sorry you had to find us, but this is a great group of people who genuinely care.

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma-nhl

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

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GregP 3X Survivor
Team WhatNext Community Mgr

Which type of NHL? What chemo therapy drugs? (Rituxin is immunotherapy & most of us had a reaction to it first time - it is a mouse antibody). What type of 'port'? I had a PICC line, which I didn't like (painful) so I switched to a Hickman line (hangs out of upper chest). Many patients have a subcutaneous port in their upper chest.

Stay hydrated and consider using stool softeners prophylactically - anti-nausea meds can be miserably constipating. Exercise helps regularity too. Exercise also decreases the peripheral neuropathy (pain in fingers & feet) that some chemo drugs can cause, as well as helps to maintain good balance.
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/2/493.abstract

If you experience significant gastrointestinal (GI) issues (acid reflux, bloating, slow GI transit) another suggestion is smaller meals more often. Additionally, check with your oncologists regarding any supplements you may be taking to make sure they don't interfere with any of the drugs, the same with any dietary changes.

Chemo can be navigated reasonably trouble free with good symptom management, if not, it can become unnecessarily difficult or interrupt the treatment schedule, even completion. You can do this!

All the best to you throughout treatment and beyond!