What is Non-hodgkins Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer arising from lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells. It is so called because of its distinction from Hodgkin's disease, a particular subt...
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Watchful Waiting
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I was recently diagnosed with NHL and my plan of treatment is watchful waiting. Has anyone been through this and can you give me any advice on how to wrap my mind around it? Thanks.
Marge Posted on 10/24/09, 09:10 pm |
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Welcome to DS ! When I was diagnosed with NHL I did take chemo treatments. Are the doctors recommending that you do some kind of treatment or just wait and watch? Did they tell you what stage you were in? Where is your treatment area? Just wondering what part of your body is affected ? Wishing you all of the best. Let us know how you are doing. pat 
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Watch and wait is very common with NHL. They won't treat until symptoms occur. There is no advantage to early treatment if you don't require it.
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I know you posted this a while ago but I have only just joined. I was diagnosed with splenic lymphoma in 2001 whilst pregnant. They have always followed the watch and wait policy and it is a bit difficult to get your head round. Your head says it's cancer, we need to do something. I have blood tests every 6 months and have had a couple of CT scans. They keep a good eye on me and I'm told that there is no benefit in treatment until I symptoms. I have enlarged lymph nodes and am a littl anaemic but they look for drenching night sweats and loosing weight. I don't have these. I still have days when I doubt the watch and wait but (touch wood) I'm still ok after 8 years.
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Hi All! I have been on "watchful waiting" and there is no way to wrap your mind around it or the oncologist. The best way to comprehend is that we have a disease that is cellular in nature. When you learn the type of lymphoma, and the stage you can goggle more info. In the beginning, I found a rock tumor under my left arm. I was shocked it was NHL. I felt blessed it was not breast cancer. I had the tumor surgerical removed and 20 radiations. A year later to the day, there was a 1.6 cm tumor in my neck and in my left groin.I received 15 radiations for the tumors. I now have small B cell follicular NHL stage 3. The Dr. seems positive that since the tumors are small, I'm o.k. I do not believe him. I go in every 3 mths for blood work. I called the 800 lymphoma help line where they answer your questions. They told me nothing productive can be done until the symptoms present themselves.
Hope this helps! Good luck.
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