A very close friend has just been diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma. 68 year old man, has never smoked, tasted alcohol, or been overweight.
Can anybody share their experience with the disease?
PLEASE: I’m asking only for factual, first hand experiences.
I was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma in Aug. 2018. I had a sizable lump in my right armpit. I began immunotherapy a month later.
The two main medications I was treated with were Rituximab (monoclonal antibody) and Bendamustine. I received infusions of both medications once a month for 6 months. I did not lose my hair (yay!) and the side effects were manageable. Mostly fatigue for several days after each treatment.
It is now about 2.5 years since my treatment finished. I have had several CT scans since and they show dramatic shrinkage of the tumor. I believe I am well on my way to being cancer free at the five year mark.
This particular cancer is very easily treated with immunotherapy and I consider myself lucky that of all the possible cancers out there, I got an easy one to cure. Rituximab is very expensive, $21,200 per infusion. Luckily I had excellent insurance which covered all but $2000 of my immunotherapy.
I was part of a class action suit against Monsanto and their product Roundup which has been linked to Lymphoma. The suit has been adjudicated and I expect to get a modest settlement later this year.
Thank you! I’ll show him this later today.
Congratulations, by the way!