# Follicular Lymphoma- anybody have first hand experience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follicular-lymphoma-anybody-have-first-hand-experience/945262 "2021-06-29T17:49:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follicular-lymphoma-anybody-have-first-hand-experience/945262/1 "2021-06-29T17:49:32Z")
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.** ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follicular-lymphoma-anybody-have-first-hand-experience/945262/2 "2021-06-30T06:07:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follicular-lymphoma-anybody-have-first-hand-experience/945262/3 "2021-06-30T17:38:01Z")
Thank you! I’ll show him this later today. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/follicular-lymphoma-anybody-have-first-hand-experience/945262/4 "2021-07-01T01:10:00Z")
Congratulations, by the way!