Lymphoma/Hodgkin tx:Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

[Icooka4u]

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma/Hodgkin stage 3. Her treatment will consist of chemo & radiation. She told me that the medication (mostly via IV) she will take is a word or acronym where each letter of the word, is a different med that she will be given. Do you know what that acronym is and what the medications are?

I want to learn as much as possible about this type of cancer. Best resources online and off?

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

I can't really speak to the specifics of the type of treatment your friend will be receiving but here are some resources that I find particularly useful. I love Medscape and used it all throughout nursing school and at work when I get a peculiar diagnosis. Of course, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has fantastic resources for patients and their loved ones.

Hodgkin Lymphoma: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology

Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, NCCN, ESMO, International Harmonization Project Guidelines, Goals of Therapy and Response Assessment

Hodgkin Lymphoma Staging: Classification and Staging Systems for Hodgkin Lymphoma

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | Donate Today!

A typical acronym for Lymphoma (low risk, early stage) induction treatment is ABVD - Adriamycin (aka doxorubicin), bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine. There's also MOPP (mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone) and BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone). There are also a few drugs that are protective against the effects of chemo, like Zinecard (dexrazoxane), which is intended to protect the heart against the negative effects of doxorubicin (if your friend is getting doxo, they may also do a baseline echocardiogram to see how her heart is before treatment and during to see if there are any issues which may call for an alteration in treatment). If a patient is getting cyclophosphamde, depending on the dose, they may also need mesna, which protects against the potential for hemorrhagic cystitis (bleeding from the bladder). Etoposide can cause infusion reactions so premedicating w/ Benadryl may be necessary.

Again, this may not be typical for what your friend ends up getting. It will depend on the genetic analysis of their type of lymphoma and will help them decide on which way to go.

[Icooka4u]

Thank you so much!

[db2xs]

So many different types of therapies. Could you ask your friend for more details?

[Carol Bush]

Two great resources:

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines - both versions for patients/families & professionals - will give you access to a ton of info & the pathways which are considered standard of care. Lymphomas are complex!

National Cancer Institute - Again, info for patients/families & professionals. This link is to the A-Z cancer types, just click on lymphomas and read on!

It's great that you are supporting your friend through treatment!

Carol

[Icooka4u]

So many different types of therapies. Could you ask your friend for more details?

I did ask but all she could remember was that each letter in the acronym represented a different medicine. She is still in shock, and I sensed that my questions were overwhelming her as she hasn't yet processed being diagnosed. I'm naturally a research type person so I don't mind digging around for the info on my own. On the other hand, another one of my friends (in a different state) was diagnosed with the same type cancer (2 wks earlier than my other friend), same stage, same age range, both women, & both have 3 kids. My out-of-state friend has already started her chemo, and gave me alot of useful info. She is in a great place mentally & emotionally. I could see her being a motivational speaker.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

I also recommend the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. It's a freakin beast of a text but it is so illuminating in terms of cancer therapies and what we have, where these treatments came from and where we are going in terms of treatments like immunotherapies and such. It makes the scary drugs like bleomycin and Adriamycin less intimidating when you know they were originally intended to be antibiotics but found to have anti-tumor properties (and, inherently, were way to toxic to be average antibiotics). I think it would be more useful for you to read and you can relay some of this information to your friend as things come up. It's likely too depressing if you're going through treatment to read about failed therapies, particularly leukemia and lymphoma. Childhood leukemia was a testing ground for a lot of today's cancer treatments. It's also a little maddening to think how slowly we have been able to develop new, less toxic therapies. But, cancer is crazy that way, I guess.

[Icooka4u]

I also recommend the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. It's a freakin beast of a text but it is so illuminating in terms of cancer therapies and what we have, where these treatments came from and where we are going in terms of treatments like immunotherapies and such. It makes the scary drugs like bleomycin and Adriamycin less intimidating when you know they were originally intended to be antibiotics but found to have anti-tumor properties (and, inherently, were way to toxic to be average antibiotics). I think it would be more useful for you to read and you can relay some of this information to your friend as things come up. It's likely too depressing if you're going through treatment to read about failed therapies, particularly leukemia and lymphoma. Childhood leukemia was a testing ground for a lot of today's cancer treatments. It's also a little maddening to think how slowly we have been able to develop new, less toxic therapies. But, cancer is crazy that way, I guess.

Thanks. I see this book is popular on Amazon and has a high rating.