Hodgkin's Lymphoma Support Group

I was treated with ABVD so I am not sure about Chop...however....If you worry too much about the side effects of the meds you will talk yourself into feeling more sick then the medication actually makes you feel. You have to just go with the flow and hope for the best. My doctor was great and worded it just like this ,,,"the chemo has many possible side effects...if you notice anything unusually call the office any time and ask us about it"....this way I didn't have in my head what could happen or what would happen. I went halfway through chemo without losing my hair which is not common...I think it was because I didn't dwell on the side effects...good luck to you with everything

R-CHOP is given for Non Hodgkin lymphoma. Rituxin (rituximab) is the immunotherapy treatment and a human/mouse hybrid antibody to the CD20 positive cells of lymphoma which it latches onto. There is a slight (!!) worry over an allergic response in the 1st treatment or worries from something called tumour lysis syndrome in bulky disease (on the 1st treatment) from tumour shedding. This is rare and more prominent in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. Patients are supported though, so don't worry. You'll be given a steroid like prednisolone and the rituximab will be infused very slowly in the 1st treatment. Otherwise it does not cause problems.

Please don't worry. My mum's just finished her R-CHOP treatment and is 86, with only a little neuropathy from the vincrisitne. She was supported throughout by a good balanced diet and a Tahitian Noni supplement (people also use Mangosteen in place of Noni). Wishing you all the very best.

I received the following advice from a lymhoma expert at Dana Farber in Boston: "Try to live a normal life". I am very active, and remained so until late in my treatments. I had R-CHOP chemo for a "gray zone" lymphoma from late June through mid-October, six cycles. Rituxan caused no reaction in my case, Vincristine gave me some mild hand and feet numbness, but the prednisone caused transient weight gain and bloating, and maybe was responsible for a gastric ulcer I developed after cycle five. Nausea and fatigue was present during mid-cycle, and worsened with each cycle, but no vomiting until cycle six. My hair disappeared. During this time I did five triathlons, including a half-Ironman. I begain to lose my energy during the fourth cycle, and I had to slow down after number five. I was very lucky. This may not be possible for everyone, but it does show what might be possible. My activities kept me happy and focused. I was able to work throughout my entire regimen as. Who knows what positive contribution exercise has on remission, which I was told yesterday I had achieved.