What chemo regimen will he be on? I had ABVD.

A makes you lose your hair. B is rough on the lungs. V gave me hideous pain, especially in my face/jaw/ upper body. D made my arm veins fail, so I had to get a port in my chest. It was a ROUGH time.

But here is the thing-- I'm almost two years out from my last chemo and doing great. Yes, the cure rates are high with this cancer. Avoid things that will weaken the chemo, like alcohol.

I think the no veggie thing is a little nuts. Eat as healthy as you can, but sometimes, you just need to eat whatever doesn't repulse you. I went through an odd phase of thinking I would vomit whenever I smelled garlic. So it went off the menu, but it is back on in large amounts, ha ha.

Take walks when possible to keep up lung strength, which will be affected by the B (bleomycin) if he is taking that.

The two month scan will be the best indicator of how things will proceed.

So while it took awhile, I am back to running, dancing and all kinds of things like that. People are shocked when they find out I went through what I did. "You would never know it" is what they say :)

Hugs & best of luck,
Idhunn

I have follicular lymphoma stage II .. underwent 6 cycles of cvp-r at 3 week intervals.. am now on maitinance of Rituxan every 3 months for two years. Of these I have had one so far, next one mid May.
Through everything my hair thinned drasitcally but never totally fell out, my appitite was off and on. I basically ate what I felt I could stomach, somedays it was just cheerios. Anything that had grease was and still is a diffanite no to me.
I did not do to much research on lymphoma itself but browse through post made by others. I learned that the doctor does not know everything or just puts things in a low priority.
The experience of others taught me that things are not all in my head. Take one day at a time, some days the energy is not there... or one minute the energy is there and the next sleeping for an hour. Don't plan meals ahead of time, the body will let you know what is ok when it is time to eat. I ate take out when ever I felt I wanted it. Fast food joints like McDonalds are still of the list.
One thing I keep telling myself is that if I had to get cancer I am glad it is lymphoma as it is one with an extremely high survival rate.

Take one day at a time, everyone has different reactions and feelings through it all. One thing I can say from experience is please keep the lines of communication open for him. I have a wonderful man but he is uncomforatable talking about it so it's a taboo subject... just the odd comment here and there..

Take care.. chin up... the spirit will make the world of difference through your travels.

Everything is very much day to day and session to session. Unless his white blood cell count is super low and he is immunocompromised, he can eat whatever he thinks he can keep down!!! The big thing is try to stay hydrated, especially right before and during the chemo days, and to eat a little something before and after chemo. Also, eat something when taking the post chemo steroids.

As far as restaurants, and going out and about in general, unless he is severely immunocompromised (or you know you will be in close quarters around somebody that is sick with something catching,) and/or he just feels like crap, you guys should be able to go out and about to wherever you wants to go.

Please tell your doctor you want the truth not what they think you want to hear to go along with them. I had HL in 2010 and still having a terrible time with the side effects. I had ABVD, the B is for Bleomycin, and it has nearly destroyed my lungs, going to a specialist next week. The radiation has made dental problems so severe I am losing all my teeth. I know different people have different side effects so he may not have any of this but at least he can discuss with oncologist before treatments.no one told me before hand. I feel we should suppport each other but I also feel I would appreciate some honesty. The cancer is in remission but my body is falling apart. I hope he does well and doesnt have to endure the same effects I have had.

I know its different with kids but my son was diagnosed in December of last Year and is now cancer free....he had three large rounds of chemo and was a bear but we got through it together....just be there for him when he needs that shoulder but warning, chemo can make them very very cranky.....just learn that pattern and it will be okay....if you need any more help or support just message me back.....keep your head up it will be okay....