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Amy

In December 2015, our son, William, started complaining of leg/knee pain. William had always been an active boy, so we figured that he must have just hurt himself doing something physical. After a few days of the pain continuing, my husband thought that maybe it was “growing pains.” We continued to keep an eye on it but weren’t too concerned at this point. By the end of the week, I called our pediatrician for an appointment. William had an exam and bloodwork done. He was also given antibiotics.

Chemotherapy

Because of acute lymphoblastic leukemia's (ALL's) rapid growth, most patients need to start chemotherapy soon after diagnosis.

Chemotherapy drugs kill fast-growing cells throughout the body including cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. The damage to normal, healthy cells can cause side effects. Yet, not everyone experiences side effects the same way. 

ALL treatment consists of:

Supportive Care

Treatment given to relieve the symptoms of a disease and the treatment’s side effects is known as supportive care. The goal of supportive care is to improve the patient’s quality of life and to relieve discomfort as much as possible. Supportive care is an important part of MDS treatment.

Emotional

You will likely find your loved one experiencing a wide range of emotions that can include sadness, guilt, fear, anxiety, loneliness, grief, withdrawal and disengagement. He or she can be stubborn and resistant, though oftentimes patients do this to maintain a sense of control. Some people welcome death, some fade slowly and some fight death intensely till the very end. We are all individuals, and it's important to remember that your family member will die in his or her own way. There is no "right" way to die, and it's important to remember this as well.

Michael and Ashlee

Michael and Ashlee have a unique mother-son relationship. They share a podcast about their cancer journey. They have a website and a YouTube channel, and, yes, they even do rap songs about their hospital experiences together.

Communicating as a Caregiver

You and your loved one will need to be open and honest with each other from the start. Remember that you are both on the same team and hope for the best outcome. At some point, you will likely have disagreements and maybe even fight, but making it a priority to keep the lines of communication open and setting boundaries and expectations early on will make things easier.

Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy

Chemotherapy drugs kill fast-growing cells throughout the body, including both cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. The damage to normal, healthy cells can cause side effects. Chemotherapy is typically given in cycles. Each cycle is made up of a certain number of days of treatment, followed by a certain number of days of rest. 

NHL Staging

Once your doctor confirms an NHL diagnosis, he or she will determine the extent of your disease's progression by staging. Staging helps your doctor predict the disease's progression and develop a treatment plan.

Imaging Tests

Your doctor conducts one or more imaging tests along with a physical exam, to evaluate:

Diagnosis

Having the correct diagnosis is important for getting the right treatment. Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) may be difficult to diagnosis. You may want to get a second medical opinion by an experienced hematopathologist before you begin treatment. A hematopathologist is a specialist who studies blood and bone marrow cells and other tissues to help diagnose diseases of the blood, bone marrow and lymph system.

Drug Therapies

In the past decade alone, new drugs and new uses for existing drugs have greatly improved rates of cure or remission for patients of all ages. Newer "targeted therapies" and "risk-adapted therapies" have resulted in higher overall response rates and decreased side effects. More than 50 drugs of different types are now being used singularly or in combination to treat blood cancers.

Blood cancer treatment often includes one or a combination of:

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of potent drugs or chemicals, often in combinations or intervals, to kill or damage cancer cells in the body. Chemotherapy drugs are often called anticancer agents. The drugs must be toxic enough to kill leukemic cells, which is why chemotherapy can be hard on your body; the drugs' toxicity can harm your healthy cells as well. However, successful chemotherapy depends on the fact that cancerous cells are more sensitive to the chemicals in the drug than normal cells are.

Mental Health

The term “mental health” includes your emotional and psychological well-being. Your mental health guides how you handle stress, manage relationships and make decisions. Mental health, like physical health, is important to your overall well-being.

Emotions like sadness, anger or stress are normal and healthy responses to difficult life events, such as a cancer diagnosis. However, sometimes persistent feelings of sadness, stress or anxiety can be caused by a mental health disorder. Don't ignore any of these feelings. Talk to your healthcare team about how you are feeling.  

Jessica

Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). APL cells have a very specific abnormality that involves chromosomes 15 and 17, leading to the formation of an abnormal fusion gene called PML/RARα. This mutated gene causes many of the features of the disease. APL accounts for about 10-15 percent of all adult AML cases diagnosed each year. 

Caregiving During Treatment

During and after cancer treatment, your loved one may find life at home becomes increasingly challenging. If  your loved one is experiencing mobility issues, peripheral neuropathy, pain or weakness after treatment, the following changes to the home may make life easier and safer for your loved one:

Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy

Chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for HL. A combination chemotherapy regimen consists of two or more chemotherapy drugs. Generally, the drugs are dissolved in fluid and usually administered via a peripheral intravenous (IV) line. If finding an accessible vein is problematic, a central line (a port, or a peripherally inserted central venous catheter (a PICC or PIC line) may be used for some HL patients. 

Side Effects

Cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma can produce side effects. The goal of treatment is to kill the cancer cells, but cancer treatments can damage healthy cells too which causes side effects.

Patients react to treatments in different ways. Some patients may have very mild side effects.  For other patients, side effects can be more severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization. For most patients, treatment side effects are temporary and go away once therapy ends.

Caring for Your Child During Treatment

The following changes to your home may make life easier and safer for you and your child:

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis is one of the most important aspects of a person’s medical care. Obtaining a precise diagnosis will help the doctor to:

• Estimate how the disease will progress
• Determine the appropriate treatment

The results of blood tests that accompany periodic medical examinations may indicate the need for further evaluation for myeloma. These include an elevated protein level, anemia and abnormalities in kidney function or calcium levels.

Supportive Care and Disease Complications

Supportive (palliative) care for myeloma helps manage the complications of the disease and the adverse side effects of the drugs used for treatment, including: 

Funeral Planning

A funeral or memorial service can help you cope after the loss of a loved one. In the early days of grief, navigating the practical issues that arise after death may feel overwhelming. Your loved one may have left instructions for you, or the decisions may be up to you or another family member. Many people may not be aware of the cost of funeral planning or the options available to families. Even if you do not plan to hold a traditional funeral, certain decisions still need to be made. 

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses your own immune system to fight cancer. There are several types of immunotherapies, and each works to help the immune system in a different way. Some boost your body’s immune system. Others train your immune system to attack specific cancer cells.

Immunotherapies being used or studied to treat blood cancer include:

Side Effects

Cancer therapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) can sometimes produce side effects. For most patients, treatment side effects are temporary and go away once therapy ends. For other patients, side effects can be more severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization. Some patients never have side effects.

Before you undergo treatment, talk with your doctor about potential side effects. In recent years, new drugs and other therapies have increased the ability to control side effects.

Understanding Blood Cancers and Treatment Options

Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. See the Disease Information pages to learn more about the different types of blood cancer.

Treatment for Aggressive NHL Subtypes

Aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) progresses rapidly. It makes up about 60 percent of all NHL cases in the United States. Aggressive subtypes include: