Posted: Jun 04, 2012 3:40 pm
Rituximab which is the R in CHOP-R is one of the major weapons in my type of lymphoma targets B-Cells which my chemo was designed to kill.
Part of the chemo cycle drugs are also to reduce the patients reactions to the poisons introduced - early chemo often resulted in patients abandoning the process as the side effects were ( and for some still are ) devastating.
In my case the goal was to kill as much of the the B-cells which are a major part of the immune system.
A gene switched off and the B-cells accumulated - hence the swollen nodes your doctor looks for in a checkup.
Without treatment my prognosis was death.
Now I have a lower risk as I go in for 6 months checks by an oncologist.
If you think something is amiss go get checked as time is of the essence in many cancers and oddly the more aggressive forms are often the easier to treat but need to be caught.
A side effect of my chemo was putting my mild rheumatoid arthritis in remission which is a known effect of Rituximab.
Called my doc after the first treatment and said - am I supposed to feel BETTER??? - he laughed and explained.
Cancer is not a death sentence, cancer is treatable and as we all will most likely face it as we live longer the more you know the the better prepared.....
The RATIONAL approach is to recognize this reality and toss the alternative treatments in the garbage where they belong.
There is validity in anti-cancer diets etc and some cancers are lifestyle ( skin and lung ) for instance but being vigilant and getting into treatment is vital.
I wandered into a walkin clinic with a concern. Doc ( just a random on duty ) didn't like it - blood and ultra sound the same day, specialist in 2 days, operation in 7 days, results a few days after that and into chemo.
Cancer free a few months later ( 6 weeks between chemo ).
Biggest cost....parking.
This is the way it should work - simply do not wait if you have something that doesn't look or feel right. My little bump was the very tip of a baby finger in size.....but it could easily have killed me.
The shame is that some like breast cancer and ovarian have poor outcomes tho the if caught early both can be successfully treated.
Supporting cancer research and resisting the spread of the kind of nonsense the OP cited are things we can all do.
Part of the chemo cycle drugs are also to reduce the patients reactions to the poisons introduced - early chemo often resulted in patients abandoning the process as the side effects were ( and for some still are ) devastating.
In my case the goal was to kill as much of the the B-cells which are a major part of the immune system.
A gene switched off and the B-cells accumulated - hence the swollen nodes your doctor looks for in a checkup.
Without treatment my prognosis was death.
Now I have a lower risk as I go in for 6 months checks by an oncologist.
If you think something is amiss go get checked as time is of the essence in many cancers and oddly the more aggressive forms are often the easier to treat but need to be caught.
A side effect of my chemo was putting my mild rheumatoid arthritis in remission which is a known effect of Rituximab.
Called my doc after the first treatment and said - am I supposed to feel BETTER??? - he laughed and explained.
Cancer is not a death sentence, cancer is treatable and as we all will most likely face it as we live longer the more you know the the better prepared.....
The RATIONAL approach is to recognize this reality and toss the alternative treatments in the garbage where they belong.
There is validity in anti-cancer diets etc and some cancers are lifestyle ( skin and lung ) for instance but being vigilant and getting into treatment is vital.
I wandered into a walkin clinic with a concern. Doc ( just a random on duty ) didn't like it - blood and ultra sound the same day, specialist in 2 days, operation in 7 days, results a few days after that and into chemo.
Cancer free a few months later ( 6 weeks between chemo ).
Biggest cost....parking.
This is the way it should work - simply do not wait if you have something that doesn't look or feel right. My little bump was the very tip of a baby finger in size.....but it could easily have killed me.
The shame is that some like breast cancer and ovarian have poor outcomes tho the if caught early both can be successfully treated.
Supporting cancer research and resisting the spread of the kind of nonsense the OP cited are things we can all do.