Just a reminder that cancer sucks...

[apabruce]

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

[gehringer_2]

  On 11/25/2021 at 5:14 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

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Never a good time of year to hear that. Godspeed to you both.

[CMRivdogs]

  On 11/25/2021 at 5:14 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

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Sending good thoughts

[Crazy Cat Gentleman]

  On 11/25/2021 at 5:14 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

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I'm sending good thoughts as well. Take care.

[smr-nj]

  On 11/25/2021 at 5:14 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

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My prayers to you both. Hang in there. 

[Kacie]

  On 11/25/2021 at 5:14 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

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So sorry.  You will get through it.  Lymphoma is very treatable in most cases.  If I may, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you make sure you see a LYMPHOMA specialist once you get the specifics.  You're right, may variations, Hodgkins, Non Hodgkins, B-Cell, T-Cell, Large cell, small cell, diffuse, non diffuse.   You'll become a pro in no time!  Take good care of yourself, too.

[apabruce]

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

I will know more next month.

In the meantime, thanks for the kind  words.

[Tigeraholic1]

  On 11/27/2021 at 10:05 PM, apabruce said:

I guess this is the cancer thread.  My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma this week.  She has her first appointment with the hematologist on December 17th.  Apparently, there are lots of variations of lymphoma.  They all terrify me. 

I will know more next month.

In the meantime, thanks for the kind  words.

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That's awful to hear.... Prayers that she will get encouraging information from the doctor.

[apabruce]

  On 11/26/2021 at 5:19 PM, Kacie said:

So sorry.  You will get through it.  Lymphoma is very treatable in most cases.  If I may, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you make sure you see a LYMPHOMA specialist once you get the specifics.  You're right, may variations, Hodgkins, Non Hodgkins, B-Cell, T-Cell, Large cell, small cell, diffuse, non diffuse.   You'll become a pro in no time!  Take good care of yourself, too.

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Indeed.

chemo starts next week.  It's an IV and is scheduled to last 6-8 hours.  She is 78,  so 8 hours of anything can be taxing.

[smr-nj]

  On 1/20/2022 at 11:40 PM, apabruce said:

Indeed.

chemo starts next week.  It's an IV and is scheduled to last 6-8 hours.  She is 78,  so 8 hours of anything can be taxing.

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We’ll be thinking of you both, Bruce.  Let us know how she’s doing. 

[apabruce]

She had her first chemo sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.  She spent about 6 hours each day in a cheap recliner getting a drip bag of a designer drug.  Other than boredom and night sweats, she has had no side effects yet.  She will now start getting sessions once a week for several months.

[oblong]

Wishing all the best. 

[romad1]

Reading about 8 hour sessions...I realize why my sister was always available on Facebook when she went through that.  Boredom. 

 

[Tigeraholic1]

My Dad is going through chemo right now as well. He has had minor side affects. They do a good job of balancing doses to keep folks feeling better.

Prayers for your wife…

[apabruce]

  On 1/28/2022 at 1:19 AM, Tigeraholic1 said:

My Dad is going through chemo right now as well. He has had minor side affects. They do a good job of balancing doses to keep folks feeling better.

Prayers for your wife…

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Sorry to hear about your dad.

[Tigeraholic1]

  On 1/28/2022 at 3:14 AM, apabruce said:

Sorry to hear about your dad.

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Thanks, he is a Vietnam Vet. Agent Orange is catching up to him. He now has Parkinson’s, beat Prostate cancer but now is battling non-hodgkin's lymphoma. 

[smr-nj]

  On 1/27/2022 at 9:42 PM, apabruce said:

She had her first chemo sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.  She spent about 6 hours each day in a cheap recliner getting a drip bag of a designer drug.  Other than boredom and night sweats, she has had no side effects yet.  She will now start getting sessions once a week for several months.

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Praying for her

[smr-nj]

  On 1/28/2022 at 3:27 AM, Tigeraholic1 said:

Thanks, he is a Vietnam Vet. Agent Orange is catching up to him. He now has Parkinson’s, beat Prostate cancer but now is battling non-hodgkin's lymphoma. 

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Praying for him, as well.

[apabruce]

There is one side effect I forgot to mention..diarrhea.  Very annoying.

[CMRivdogs]

  On 1/29/2022 at 4:54 PM, apabruce said:

There is one side effect I forgot to mention..diarrhea.  Very annoying.

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I'm beginning to think every medicine has that side effect. Especially the level 5 experimental drugs 

Edited January 29, 2022 by CMRivdogs

[apabruce]

Also common are drugs that cause constipation.

My wife is now taking 4 different prescription drugs to help with side effects.

[apabruce]

The drugs being used for my wife's chemo are GAZYVA for the IV and VENCLEXTA for the pills [who names this stuff?]  No bill has been submitted yet.  Under Medicare part A, her maximum out of pocket is $4,500, so I am expecting something like that.  The actual pills are expensive, but I am told we can get reimbursement for up to $9K.

She asked when she started if her hair would fall out and they told her "probably not." Well, her hair is falling out, if what we see in the shower drain is a precursor.  She is not a happy camper about that.

[CMRivdogs]

  On 2/19/2022 at 8:14 PM, apabruce said:

The drugs being used for my wife's chemo are GAZYVA for the IV and VENCLEXTA for the pills [who names this stuff?]  No bill has been submitted yet.  Under Medicare part A, her maximum out of pocket is $4,500, so I am expecting something like that.  The actual pills are expensive, but I am told we can get reimbursement for up to $9K.

She asked when she started if her hair would fall out and they told her "probably not." Well, her hair is falling out, if what we see in the shower drain is a precursor.  She is not a happy camper about that.

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I've been diagnosed with ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease). We suspect I've had it for a while. They've prescribed Cofev. Medicare doesn't pay until I meet the deductible. Then it pays something like 75% Since it's considered experimental, out of pocket is still fairly steep.

[apabruce]

I had to look up Interstitial Lung Disease.

Wishing you well.

[apabruce]

An update on my wife's lymphoma and chemo-

My post about her losing her hair was a false alarm.  So far, she's good.

We've reached our $4,500 maximum, so we should be done with that. for the rest of the year.

I got my Moderna shot number 4 last week.  My wife got a shot of Evosheld.  This is designed for people with compromised immune systems.  Instead of stimulating the body's immune system to produce antibodies, it just injects antibodies.

There were several other people in this thread whose family members were involved in chemo.  I'd like to hear how you're doing.