My R-CVP Experience

I’ve just returned home from my final round of R-CVP treatments, diploma in hand and a nice card from all of the nurses and doctors.  Every day, several people find my blog, searching for personal experiences with Rituxan and CVP chemotherapy, so I offer this post for them, as a summary of my experience.
I was [...]

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Chemotherapy, Cycle 5

Thank you to everyone who wrote over the weekend.  Your messages of support are very much appreciated!  The news on Friday was disappointing but not unexpected.  I’d been feeling full again last week, unable to sit comfortably after eating a normal dinner, and I suspected that the R-CVP was not working.  My tumor has shrunk [...]

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The Good News…..

First….the photo above is my “happy place”: Nyborg Beach in Denmark. We were there two years ago with friends and I had such a good time wading in the water on the beach. The water was surprisingly warm and I have many great memories from that trip.
Second….Herbie’s daughter, “Bella”, Starbuck Torbay Masquerade at Danter, won [...]

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Halfway Through Chemo

Today began the fourth of six R-CVP cycles that I will receive.  I got Rituxan this morning and will get CVP tomorrow.  I’m very sleepy this afternoon, a result of the pre-meds that I’m given prior to Rituxan.  The rash on my legs got much worse during the second week of cycle three but this morning it [...]

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Weekend Update

Before I get to today’s update…..today’s photo is head study of Herbie, taken a few weeks ago in Denver where he earned back-to-back G2’s. We had such a nice week with him last week, while David and Lesley were judging, but he’s back to work now…
The last few days have been long and tiring and [...]

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Chemotherapy, Cycle 3, Day 1 – Rituxan

Today began my third cycle of R-CVP, in which I receive Rituxan on Mondays and CVP chemo on Tuesday.  As always, I was loaded with pre-meds (Benadryl, Solumedrol and Tylenol) before beginning Rituxan.  The Rituxan antibodies are grown in mice and can therefore cause an allergic reaction…..thus the pre-meds and blood pressure monitoring every half [...]

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Chemotherapy, Round 2…or…The ABC’s of Chemo

Today began my second cycle of R-CVP treatments.  The session began with the usual….”What’s your name?”….”What’s your birthdate?”…”What is your understanding of why you’re here today?”…….
“Today I’m here for Rituxan and tomorrow I’ll get CVP”, I said.
“Great!  We’re on the same page.  Have you started “P” yet?”……”Wait, maybe I should rephrase that”, the nurse said with [...]

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An Article on Rituxan and Statins

I guess I’ll postpone treatment for high cholesterol:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/5/3/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0050064-L.pdf

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My Strategy

The two most frustrating things that I’ve experienced as a cancer patient are the endless waiting and the lack of compassion.  With some forms of cancer, things happen fairly quickly after the patient has been diganosed…….but not with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, particularly the indolent (slow-growing) types.  The indolent forms are usually incurable; the aggressive forms are easier to [...]

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Round 2, Day 1

My second round of treatments began today.  I’ll receive these treatments on Mondays and Tuesdays, every three weeks, for a series of six cycles.  On Mondays I’ll receive Rituxan, the same monoclonal antibody treatments that I received weekly in December, but this time around I’ll receive nearly double the dosage.  Today’s treatment was fairly uneventful [...]

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