Getting very strange, isn't it---three different diagnoses... But it is
apparently not easy for pathologists to tell the difference between
lymphoma and leukemia at times. Subsequent to my being treated with
chemotherapy for low-grade Non-Hodgkins, the oncologist said to me, "If
I were to diagnose the cancer today I'd diagnose it as chronic
lymphocytic leukemia."
But in any case, IF it is indeed low grade B cell lymphoma, AND the B-
cells have the CD-20 antigen, than Rituxan alone is not at all a bad
way to go. Yes, a very few people have died from administration from
Rituxan, but a tremendously more people have had at least some kind of
decent response to it, and, as Vincent says, it is not chemotherapy.
That is, one does not develop leukopenia from it,(though one's B-cells
are very significantly depleted for at least 6 months.) One does not
vomit from it, nor lose one's hair, nor get mouth sores nor diarrhea or
any of the other drastic, nasty effects one can expect from
chemotherapy.
As Vincent says, Rituxan is only very rarely given by itself as first-
line treatment. If that is indeed the case, then I commend the
oncologist for being so reasonable. Since Rituxan can be administered
repeatedly without the cancer becoming resistant to it, I see no good
reason not to first try it by itself, since, if there is little to no
response to it, one can subsequently give Rituxan + chemotherapy
without any compromise at all in the efficacy of that subsequent
treatment.
I do understand that it is extraordinarily rare for Rituxan to put
someone into complete, permanent remission. But in my case, it did me
very significant good both times I got it. In both cases, I got Rituxan
when I had a large growth on my neck and jaw, those areas being the
ONLY places the cancer had recurred since I'd first been treated for
NHL in 1989.
Now this next bit I have to say is EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT:
The first time I got Rituxan, the growth was about the size of a large
lemon, and the Rituxan only shrank the tumor by 1/2 centimeter. BUT it
also STOPPED the growth of the tumor. That allowed some of the
alternative stuff I was doing to kick in, and about 5-6 months later,
the tumor shrank down to about the size of the last digit of my thumb.
But the second time I got Rituxan was when the REAL phenomenon occured:
The second time I got Rituxan, when the tumor on my neck and jaw were
the size of a SOFTBALL, I ALSO USED A REBOUNDER OR MINI-TRAMPOLINE the
day of the treatment and for several days after, and then as often as I
could between treatments!
Why did I do that? THIS IS WHY: Because I read, in Arthur C. Guyton's
well-known textbook, "Medical Physiology," that ONE MINUTE OF STRENUOUS
EXERCISE CAN DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF KILLER CELLS CIRCULATING IN THE LYMPH
AND MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL FOR ABOUT AN HOUR! (If you or your friend wish
to see that fact written in plain English, you can get the 7th Edition
of "Medical Physiology" from the library and read it for yourselves.)
So, on the day I got the Rituxan, I came home, got on my soft-bounce
rebounder and ran in place as hard and fast as I could for one minute.
An hour later, I did it again, and the hour after that, etc, until it
was time for bed.
WHEN I AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING, IT WAS THOROUGHLY OBVIOUS TO ME AND TO
MY WIFE THAT THE TUMOR HAD ALREADY BEGUN SHRINKING! I got on the
rebounder as soon as I could, and ran in place as hard and fast as I
could for a minute, and once again kept that up throughout the day till
bed time.
Over a period of about 6 weeks, that HUGE tumor in my neck and jaw
shrank down so small that NO ONE who hadn't known I had cancer prior to
treatment would have been able to tell there was anything there!
Now I understand, Joe, that your friend is 76-years-old, not 54 1/2 as
I was when I got that second dose of Rituxan. I expect he may not be
able to get on the rebounder once an hour and run as hard and fast as
he can. BUT I HOPE he can get on one and do just as much as he can for
one minute each hour! Here is why:
We already know that Rituxan is not chemotherapy. What it is, actually,
is a mono-clonal antibody which, when injected into the blood stream,
seeks out and attaches itself to the CD-20 antigens on the body's B-
cells, thereby signaling the killer cells of the immune system to
attack and destroy those B-cells. Quite obviously, THE MORE KILLER
CELLS THERE ARE IN THE LYMPH, THE FASTER AND MORE THOROUGH WILL BE THE
DESTRUCTION AND DIGESTION OF THE B-CELLS!
Rituxan, in my opinion, is one of the very best things mainstream
medicine has come out with for treating cancer, in that it is
essentially non-toxic, and in that it actually works WITH, rather than
against, the body's natural mechanism. It does cause the body to attack
and kill most or all of its B-cells, which would be dangerous IF the
stem cells did not remanufacture the B-cells within about 6-9 months
subsequent to the administration of Rituxan.
Unfortunately, the stem cells generally remanufacture BOTH healthy AND
cancerous B-cells, which is why Rituxan generally does not cure someone
of NHL. But I have already stated why I think Rituxan can be of very
significant value. (The second time I got Rituxan, when it shrunk that
HUGE tumor down to just about nothing, it gave me the chance to get low-
grade radiation to my neck and jaw very soon after tumors began
regrowing in that area, and now I may possibly never have any growths
in that area again!)
It is true that people have died from administration of Rituxan, but
there are a lot of people who had so little untoward reaction that they
might as well have had saline solution going into their vein, and the
most common untoward reaction is a rash and maybe some mild chills and
fever. Those symptoms nearly always clear with the aministration of
some Benadryl.
So, as a two-time recipient of Rituxan, I feel that its benefits
tremendously outweigh its possible negatives.
Best wishes,
Elliot
--- In cancercured@yahoogroups.com, "JCastron" <jcastron1@...> wrote:
>
> The Diagnosis is now: "This weeks diagnosis, Low Grade B Cell
Lymphoma to
> be treated with Rituxan.
>
> This is the third different diagnosis.
>
>
> Anyone having dealt with this and treated with Rituxan? Keep in
mind, his
> dad is 76 or so.
>
>
> Joe C.
>
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cancercured/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cancercured/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:cancercured-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:cancercured-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
cancercured-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar