On 4/17/2008 EricJR wrote:
Your dad's decision to stop chemo must've been a difficult one for him. I just finished 12 weeks of ABVD treatment for stage IIIB Hodgkins. Chemo sucks (a lot) but Hodgkins is one of the cancers the doctor's know very well and can get into remission with treatment. How long was your dad in chemo? What is his age and physical condition? I noticed an improvement in my condition after 5 or 6 chemo treatments and my PET and CAT scans showed no cancer after the 8th treatment. We did 12 total treatments. What were the physical effects on your dad from the chemo treatments? It took me quite a while to learn to deal with the side effects. Maybe he needs help dealing with the side effects. Did he get Emend (3 day package) or Ativan (anti-anxiety) or Reglan (anti-nausea)? I took all 3.
My 65 year old father has had Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage III B since October 2006. He too has been too ill to receive regular chemo treatments. He has had serious infections. Arpil 1, 2008 he had his last chemo that resulted in sepsis. He has had complications from the chemo throughout his treatment. His age, and other health problems have been constant battles in his fight to remission. Due to his bad heart he is not a candidate for many of the commonly used chemo drugs. Many of the chemo drugs can cause rapid heart failure. Radiation would be too damaging to his already weak heart. The Doctor agreed that chemo is making him worse. Yesterday, he made the decision to live life to the fullest and discontinue chemo. He does not want radiation either since the lymphoma is scattered in too many place throughout his chest and abdomen. I am now trying to prepare myself mentally to support him in his decision. It will be hard to see him go though the battle, but only he knows how he has suffered. I hope your friends daughter recovers to receive chemo.