My 11 Year Old Son Was Diagnosed With Hodgkins

I am just trying to find out as much as I can about this disease. My 11 year old son was diagnosed with hodgkins today and I just dont know what to do.

Hi

What do you want to know about it, I'm sure you have questions and concerns and I would be happy to answer them for ya...

*Mia*

Mia, thank you very much for your reply. We just found out yesterday that he is classified as a stage 3 class a. To tell you the truth I dont know what to think or what to do. I can see the fear in his eyes and it eats me up inside. I guess that I am just looking to understand and find out what I can do to help him. Any information that you can give me will help. Thank you again, and I look forward to hearing from you. PS the reason for the long delay is that, well i am sure you know the reasons

Its good to hear from you!! I'm 15 and when i was 14 i was diagnosed a stage 2A, The things that my parents told me that really helped me through it was that to be thankfull that it is a cureable cancer and that I will survive through it, I only had to have 2 months of Chemo once a week, How many treatments does he need?...another thing that my parents told me was be really thnkful that I didnt have to go through it for a year or more....What you need to do is help him by getting him what ever he needs during the period that he will have chemo, when i was having chemo i was in bed 24/7 and couldnt get up so my parents got what ever I needed and It was a big help...Youre gonna have to force him to drink liquids, cuz i remember i never wanted to drink anything cuz i felt nausieated, but he needs to flush out all of his chemo, Unfortuatley its going to get worse the more treatments he has, on my last one my bones felt like someone was pounding on them with a hammer so my dad had to carry me to the bathroom! Imagine a 14 year old whose taller than her dad being carried by him!! lol, let him understand that even though it doesnt seem like it something good will come out of this, even if it is him becoming a doctor or maybe he will be able to help kids though it, you never know!...I hope those tips will help you, if you have any more questions I'll be happy to answer them...thanx!!

Hi there, I was sorry to hear about your son. I am in my 5th year remission of Hodgkins. Type IIb. I will be 40 this year. I was 35, married with a 7 year old son when I too was diagnosed. We were terrified. Our whole life was turned upside down. My husband took this news worse than I did. My son was too young to understand what the word "CANCER" was. I was the fighter, and I still am. I went through 12 weeks of ABVD.I had a port put in my chest for my rounds. These are some scary things to hear but they will be a blur to you as they are to us now. It doesn't seem real to us now. We went through alot, we lost alot of friends on this journey too. Times like this you find out who really counts in your life. I hope you have great support from your family and friends,you will need them. My son is 11 now, and he is my world, he knows now what we went through, and asks me from time to time if I will get sick again? I always answer him by saying, not today and tomorrow doesn't look good either. He laughs and hugs me. My husband and I know that there is remission but not a cure. And I take everyday as it comes, but I never live in fear. I had 11 sessions of chemo not 12, I was too sick towards the end, I wanted that last treatment.I thought if I didn't get it I would not make it. I am here to tell you it was just a number. I have some after effects from the chemo. But I have my family and my "true" friends and they make it easier to smile. I want you to know that I hope and pray this will be your "BLUR" too. Remember your son's attitude has alot to do with remission so keep him happy, really happy. Laugh often, never stress the small things, you have bigger things on your plate. Please let me know how he is doing. I wish the best for your son. If you have any questions that I may be able to answer let me know. P.S. Don't read so much off the internet about his condition, and I know you are, I did too. His doctor knows more, ask him/her first. They prefer that. hope this helps a little. all my best Apple :-)

Apple and Mia. Thank you for all of your help. I just wanted you both to know that Gregory started chemo on monday and has 1 day left on this cycle. The good news is that he started responding immediately. By the next day the lump in his neck had shrunk to half of its size and now after 3 treatments it is just barely visable. The doctor told me that if I would have told her over the phone how small the lump was she wouldnt have believed it. So I keep praying that he will be a fast responder. I will keep you posted as time goes by. Again thank you for your support it has helped me deal with this tremendously.

Wow I’m so happy for him! Thats great news....
The lump that I had was on the right side of my neck kind of in my collar bone...I think mine shrunk after I had maybe 2 treatments? How is he feeling otherwise? Let Gregory know that my family and I are praying for him every day! and tell him to hang in there!!....thanks for responding because I know how busy you must be....

*Mia*

Mia, I know it has been a while but just wanted to let you all know that Greg got admitted to the hospital last monday after his last treatment of chemo on his first cycle. He started having problems breathing on the way home and when we arrived back at the hospital his heart beat was between 150-170 bpm, fever of 103+ and his counts where low so he was admitted until his fever, counts and heart beat was back to normal. He was released on sunday and is home and doing fine. He started loosing his hair also on sunday so on monday, greg, his older brother andrew and I all shaved our heads. Which is quite a site I must say, lol. He starts he second cycle next monday, I can say it seems he is responding well, you cannot see the lumps on his neck at all anymore and when you feel for them they are harder to find. I will keep you posted as time goes on and thank you for all your prayers. Jon

Its good to hear from you. Awwww I'm so sorry to hear that his heart beat was up and he had a fever, etc. Tell him jus to hang in there and be strong! Awwww thats actually cute that you guys shaved your heads! lol my dad was going to but I told him not too because i knew it would be a little scary! lol I'm glad that the lump seems to be disapearing!...Keep me posted!!! & hang in there!!!

Mia