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What can you tell me about slow growth non hosgkins lymphoma?

 

One of my good friends was just diagnosed and has to get more tests to determine treatment.

 

I've read that it's curable but I've also read that 10 year survival rates are 51%.

 

This guy is only 35.

 

On a side note, what experiences do any of you have supporting friends with cancer as they fight it?

 

Of course I've offered to be there for whatever they need, but hiw can friends be most helpful in times like this. I have zero experience in this area.

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What can you tell me about slow growth non hosgkins lymphoma?

One of my good friends was just diagnosed and has to get more tests to determine treatment.

I've read that it's curable but I've also read that 10 year survival rates are 51%.

This guy is only 35.

On a side note, what experiences do any of you have supporting friends with cancer as they fight it?

Of course I've offered to be there for whatever they need, but hiw can friends be most helpful in times like this. I have zero experience in this area.

Sorry to hear and good question on how best to help.

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What can you tell me about slow growth non hosgkins lymphoma?

 

One of my good friends was just diagnosed and has to get more tests to determine treatment.

 

I've read that it's curable but I've also read that 10 year survival rates are 51%.

 

This guy is only 35.

 

On a side note, what experiences do any of you have supporting friends with cancer as they fight it?

 

Of course I've offered to be there for whatever they need, but hiw can friends be most helpful in times like this. I have zero experience in this area.

Non Hodgkins lynphoma*

 

And it's curable but takes time. Haven't kept up with the latest on the subject but when I worked on the cancer ward there were different ways of treating it. It all depends on the spread of the cancer cells.

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Attorney buddy of mine has been fighting this for about a year now.. He's lost a considerable amount of weight and has been treating it with aggressive chemo.. He's not doing as well as the docs had hoped - he's even had some surgeries to go along with the treatments.

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Attorney buddy of mine has been fighting this for about a year now.. He's lost a considerable amount of weight and has been treating it with aggressive chemo.. He's not doing as well as the docs had hoped - he's even had some surgeries to go along with the treatments.

Sorry to hear it. Any tips on how to best be helpful to a friend who's fighting it? Everybody is different of course, but does he like to talk about it, does he prefer to take his mind off it? Do you cut his grass or trim his hedges for him?

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Sorry to hear it. Any tips on how to best be helpful to a friend who's fighting it? Everybody is different of course, but does he like to talk about it, does he prefer to take his mind off it? Do you cut his grass or trim his hedges for him?

Ha, no - he cuts his own grass.. He's a big old country boy at heart - likes to work on his land and tend to his animals.. But he's also a bit of a loner.. He plays it tight the vest by nature - but he let's it out and opens up around me and a couple others... I never pressured him for details - I always just asked if he was feeling (not better) but stronger.. The weight loss was the most noticeable sign. At 6'3" and 220 lbs - he was getting downwards of 180 lbs - rather quickly... Now we talk about the chemo and where the pain is - he seems to have accepted that maybe this thing has the best of him.. It's really making me sad.

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Ha, no - he cuts his own grass.. He's a big old country boy at heart - likes to work on his land and tend to his animals.. But he's also a bit of a loner.. He plays it tight the vest by nature - but he let's it out and opens up around me and a couple others... I never pressured him for details - I always just asked if he was feeling (not better) but stronger.. The weight loss was the most noticeable sign. At 6'3" and 220 lbs - he was getting downwards of 180 lbs - rather quickly... Now we talk about the chemo and where the pain is - he seems to have accepted that maybe this thing has the best of him.. It's really making me sad.

That really sucks man. So much of life is just pure, dumb luck. Both good and bad.

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Ha, no - he cuts his own grass.. He's a big old country boy at heart - likes to work on his land and tend to his animals.. But he's also a bit of a loner.. He plays it tight the vest by nature - but he let's it out and opens up around me and a couple others... I never pressured him for details - I always just asked if he was feeling (not better) but stronger.. The weight loss was the most noticeable sign. At 6'3" and 220 lbs - he was getting downwards of 180 lbs - rather quickly... Now we talk about the chemo and where the pain is - he seems to have accepted that maybe this thing has the best of him.. It's really making me sad.

NHL was the first cancer from the first patient that died on me while working on the bone marrow transplant ward. The guy who I treated and took care of was a colonel. 6'4 225 of nothing but dam muscle when he came in. By the time he passed he had dropped down to 160, was extremely jaundice, could barely talk, and was having altered mental status. The colonel was one of the coolest guys I met up there and was sad to see him pass. The chemo is really what kills you cause you're basically putting poison in your body to fight the cancer. Now I've treated people who became cancer free who had NHL. And each person is different when dealing with cancer. Some people will talk about it. Others won't want to talk about it. It's something you have to be very careful with when trying to bring up the subject. After all it IS something that kills you and is a horrible experience to go through. The treatment causes you to feel absolutely horrible and I would not wish that on anyone

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... By the time he passed he had dropped down to 160, was extremely jaundice

That's another noticeable sign we picked up early on.. His skin tone changed to the jaundice tint.. He's regained a lot of it back - but you definitely notice it

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My 85 year old grandma was diagnosed with it a year ago, they have her on low dose chemo. She will not make it 10 years and probably would not have made it even without non-hodgekins lymphoma.

 

She is still doing pretty well a year into it. She will even travel to Vegas this summer.

 

Point is that 10 year survival rate may be skewed by old people.

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My 85 year old grandma was diagnosed with it a year ago, they have her on low dose chemo. She will not make it 10 years and probably would not have made it even without non-hodgekins lymphoma.

 

She is still doing pretty well a year into it. She will even travel to Vegas this summer.

 

Point is that 10 year survival rate may be skewed by old people.

Yeah. I've wondered how those survival rates are calculated.

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Gotta be tough on his kids right now. He has 4. Ages 13, 11, 8 and 5.

 

His wife told my wife this morning that when they heard cancer, they all automatically concluded that he is dying.

 

 

I believe the slow growth diagnosis is encouraging. According to is wife, they may not do anything beyond wait and see, depending on the next test results.

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Gotta be tough on his kids right now. He has 4. Ages 13, 11, 8 and 5.

 

His wife told my wife this morning that when they heard cancer, they all automatically concluded that he is dying.

 

 

I believe the slow growth diagnosis is encouraging. According to is wife, they may not do anything beyond wait and see, depending on the next test results.

My sister passed from Brain Cancer with 3 kids around the same age. The very best thing you can tell him is that you will help look after his kids. You don't have to say you'll be a father type figure, but that you will always show interest in them and will always tell them they had a great father. It's probably all he thinks about.

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Sorry to hear it. I am not sure anyone escapes non-hodgkins over the long haul.

 

Some lymphomas grows so slowly you die of something else before you succumb. In general, a cure is only accomplished with bone marrow transplant, though some people go into remission for an extended period just with chemo. Paradoxically, the rapid growing tumors respond better to chemo IIRC.

 

But I ain't an oncologist, and moreso than most areas of medicine, cancer treatment is uber specialized, and constantly changing. As to the OP, all you can do is be there for your friend. Offer to take him to his appointments, get him some food or take some work off his hands. Check in on him and take his mind off the symptoms.

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My sister passed from Brain Cancer with 3 kids around the same age. The very best thing you can tell him is that you will help look after his kids. You don't have to say you'll be a father type figure, but that you will always show interest in them and will always tell them they had a great father. It's probably all he thinks about.

 

I love this; great advice. :cheers:

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Some lymphomas grows so slowly you die of something else before you succumb. In general, a cure is only accomplished with bone marrow transplant, though some people go into remission for an extended period just with chemo. Paradoxically, the rapid growing tumors respond better to chemo IIRC.

 

But I ain't an oncologist, and moreso than most areas of medicine, cancer treatment is uber specialized, and constantly changing. As to the OP, all you can do is be there for your friend. Offer to take him to his appointments, get him some food or take some work off his hands. Check in on him and take his mind off the symptoms.

Bone marrow transplants are actually relatively simple procedures as well. Basically, it's like getting an infusion of blood except it's bone marrow. You could always tell when someone had a bone marrow transplant any time you walked on the ward from the smell. The smell coming from the patient reminded you heavily of creamed corn and it permeated through the entire ward. You could also expect the patient to be extremely sick the following days afterwards from it.

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