Non-hodgkin's Lymphoma Support Group
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 subtype of lymphoma. It is in fact an overarching term of many different forms of lymphoma, each with individual characteristics. Most cases start with infiltration of lymph nodes, but specific...
Hello to all of you folks out there in cyber space! :)
My DH was diagnosed last June. He had no symptoms except for swollen glands that were bothering his neck. He almost never gets sick, ate like crap (pardon the language! lol), and was moderately active. Never gained weight and could eat whatever, but has Lypomas (fatty benign cysts) all over his body.
When he was diagnosed he immediately changed his diet to eat more like mine, mostly raw, organic, giving up the anti persperants, no more using DEET all over himself in the summer, etc.
We have an 18mo old boy too. I am 43, and my DH will be 40 this year.
Around thanksgiving, this all hit me. I thought I was a strong person, but now I have difficulty sleeping and try to imagine him old with me and not think of the alternative. I truly believe that the energy you put out into the universe affects us; comes back to us.
Other issues are, when I see him purchase certain food items I let him know of the chemicals and harmful effects. He gets so mad at me, and I remind him that it is not my fault, I am only letting him know so he can make an educated choice.
I am learning to back off and just let it go... but easier said than done. I started drinking red wine before bed to relax, but have stopped doing that. I like my wine, but only to celebrate or with a good meal.
My DH and I have what I would call a "passionate" relationship. lol! We argue a lot, which is the worst thing for him! So I try to just stay quiet, but he can work himself up and keep trying to push my buttons. I am indeed learning more patience! :)
I make him his salad for lunch every day. Help set up his coffee cleanses as often and when ever he wants. I feel overwhelmed at times, but I do my best to keep it to myselft untill I feel like i will explode. Not good at all.
I want to know the perspective from the those with NHL. I do not want to burden my husband with my worries. I do ask him who can I be supportive, but he is also very difficult to have a talk with for more than 5mins. He has been reading books such as Deepok Chopra on death (a very enlightening and beautiful book), and other spiritual books. We are not religious at all, but we are spiritual.
I keep thinking that we will wake up and this will all be just a bad dream. But it is real. I am trying to believe that there is an order in things, in life, and that things always seem to work themselves out. Not in the way that we may want, but in the way they are suppose to be.
My DH was diagnosed last June. He had no symptoms except for swollen glands that were bothering his neck. He almost never gets sick, ate like crap (pardon the language! lol), and was moderately active. Never gained weight and could eat whatever, but has Lypomas (fatty benign cysts) all over his body.
When he was diagnosed he immediately changed his diet to eat more like mine, mostly raw, organic, giving up the anti persperants, no more using DEET all over himself in the summer, etc.
We have an 18mo old boy too. I am 43, and my DH will be 40 this year.
Around thanksgiving, this all hit me. I thought I was a strong person, but now I have difficulty sleeping and try to imagine him old with me and not think of the alternative. I truly believe that the energy you put out into the universe affects us; comes back to us.
Other issues are, when I see him purchase certain food items I let him know of the chemicals and harmful effects. He gets so mad at me, and I remind him that it is not my fault, I am only letting him know so he can make an educated choice.
I am learning to back off and just let it go... but easier said than done. I started drinking red wine before bed to relax, but have stopped doing that. I like my wine, but only to celebrate or with a good meal.
My DH and I have what I would call a "passionate" relationship. lol! We argue a lot, which is the worst thing for him! So I try to just stay quiet, but he can work himself up and keep trying to push my buttons. I am indeed learning more patience! :)
I make him his salad for lunch every day. Help set up his coffee cleanses as often and when ever he wants. I feel overwhelmed at times, but I do my best to keep it to myselft untill I feel like i will explode. Not good at all.
I want to know the perspective from the those with NHL. I do not want to burden my husband with my worries. I do ask him who can I be supportive, but he is also very difficult to have a talk with for more than 5mins. He has been reading books such as Deepok Chopra on death (a very enlightening and beautiful book), and other spiritual books. We are not religious at all, but we are spiritual.
I keep thinking that we will wake up and this will all be just a bad dream. But it is real. I am trying to believe that there is an order in things, in life, and that things always seem to work themselves out. Not in the way that we may want, but in the way they are suppose to be.
I can understand you wanting him to live the most healthy life possible. But in reality, he already has cancer and while it is important to eat healthy and take care of our bodies, the preventative cancer beliefs no longer apply.
You might want to consider a support group for loved ones of cancer patients. I would also allow him to "fall off the wagon" and eat what he wants when he wants. It is tough enough to live with the knowledge that he has cancer - he has the right to choose what he puts in his body.
It is great that his cancer hasn't been troublesome and he can "watch and wait". There are lots and lots of things you two will need to learn to work through. Learning to communicate and support each other now will help you leaps and bounds for when things are really tough.
Hats off to you for being a strong support for your husband. It is not an easy role. Hang in there!
hope all is well with you!