So, I now have two procedures scheduled before I can start treatment. I have high grade lymphoma (not the low grade I had before. Unlike gasoline, high grade is worse) and the recommended treatment is R-CHOP:
R-CHOP is a combination of five drugs that work together to target and kill cancer cells. It’s a first-line treatment for aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a group of blood cancers. (WebMD).
So I will get Rituximab like I did in 2013. I had very little reaction to it. It is the chemo that scares me but there should be a lessening of my pain after the first week.
After about 3 weeks I will probably lose most of my hair and have to shave my head.
I will have 6 treatments, one every 3 weeks. I figure that takes me to the end of July. Spring AND summer? That's not fair!
The two procedures are scheduled for this Friday and next Wednesday. So the earliest I would be able to start treatment is the end of next week but I don't have it scheduled yet. First I will get an echocardiogram to make sure my heart is working well. One of the drugs is hard on the heart. The second procedure is a bone marrow biopsy to see if the cancer is in my bone marrow.
In the short run, I got a refill of oxycodone. In the long run, if I am in the 90% that this works for, great! But it may reoccur in a few years. That is a depressing thought!
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