Here’s what to do if you have lymphoma
1.Lymphoma is not a terminal disease
Among the malignant tumors that have achieved better treatment effect, the treatment effect of malignant lymphoma is more ideal, especially the B-cell lymphoma is more significant. A large number of clinical studies have confirmed that 50%-60% of early patients can be cured with immunochemotherapy, and patients whose tumors can be completely regressed after 6-8 courses of standard treatment have a high possibility of cure. For patients who found the disease late, don’t be discouraged. Seeking time for active treatment can improve the quality of life and prolong the survival time.
2.Maintain a good and positive attitude and cooperate with doctors to complete the treatment
What psychological changes will be produced by general tumor patients to establish correct anti-cancer concept?
(1) Anxiety, fear and speculation
(2) Loneliness and depression: family members should communicate more with patients at this time, eliminate patients’ psychological distress in time, comfort and encourage patients to finish the treatment strongly.
(3) Confidence and hope: Please believe that you can overcome the disease, firm belief in survival in order to actively cooperate with treatment.
(4) Don’t rush to the doctor: you must go to a regular hospital for treatment, do not believe in the informal treatment methods circulating in the society and blindly treat.
(5) Reasonable arrangement of new lifestyle: Patients should reasonably arrange sufficient sleep, pay attention to diet, enhance nutrition, and improve the body’s ability to resist and.
How to get the disease of lymphoma
The cause of lymphoma is not clear yet, but experts generally believe that it is related to the following factors.
(1) Viral infections: EBV virus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), human herpes virus type 8 (HHV-8)
(2) Bacterial infections: the occurrence of gastric MALT lymphoma is associated with Helicobacter pylori infection
(3) Radiation as well as chemical contamination: Radioactive substances or certain specific chemicals such as organic solvents and herbicides are prone to induce lymphoma by frequent exposure.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, those symptoms will appear
(1) Symptoms of the lymphatic system: The onset of the disease is usually painless enlargement of peripheral lymph nodes. It is more likely to occur in the neck, above the collarbone and in the groin.
(2) Extra-lymph node manifestations: Invasion of the respiratory system may lead to cough and dyspnea; invasion of the digestive system may lead to abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, gastrointestinal bleeding and other symptoms; damage to the central nervous system may lead to headache and vision loss and other symptoms.
(3) Systemic manifestations: In the initial stage, patients with lymphoma may only show irregular fever. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as weight loss, night sweats, itchy skin and fatigue may appear, which doctors call “B symptoms”.
How to diagnose lymphoma
Only when the pathological examination results of lymph nodes are clarified can the corresponding treatment plan be made. To obtain the pathological examination results, a lymph node biopsy should be performed.
After the patient is clearly diagnosed, we need to further understand how the patient’s organs are functioning. Find out if the patient has had tuberculosis? What is the condition of the heart, liver, kidneys, blood system, bone marrow? If the patient has hepatitis, then the specialist will try to avoid drugs that are more damaging to the liver when planning the treatment. Then use some medications that protect the liver. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy! Only on this basis can we say that we have developed a treatment plan for the patient.
Self-care and follow-up
During the recovery phase, the following should be noted.
(1) Pay close attention to the physical condition and do a good job of self-examination. You should not be negligent because of the initial recovery.
(2) Regular follow-up: Usually, in 1-2 years after the end of chemotherapy, you should visit the hospital every 2-3 months for check-ups and follow-ups, and in the third year, start to visit every six months. Until 5 years later, no recurrence symptoms and any discomfort is appropriate.
(3) For follow-up visits, it is best to choose the same doctor or hospital who knows your condition for follow-up visits in order to achieve consistency in treatment.
(4) Keep your mood happy and enhance your physical fitness. You can read books, enjoy music, take a walk, tai chi and other moderate leisure exercise, so that your body does not feel tired.
(5) Specially remind you that you must develop good habits and be persistent. Do not start an irregular life again because you have recovered from the disease. This will cause serious physical throwing.
(6) In the recovery stage, you can apply some drugs to enhance the immunity of the body under the guidance of the doctor, such as Chinese medicine, interferon, etc., but do not abuse all kinds of so-called tonic drugs without the guidance of the doctor.