The incompletely treated Hodgkin lymphoma

That title is kind of absurd, isn’t it? However, when we say incompletely treated Hodgkin lymphoma, we are not necessarily talking about the treatment. But rather, we are talking about the type of Hodgkin lymphoma that cannot be removed completely.

There are cases where after the treatment; this form of cancer is completely removed. However, there are also some cases where the lymphoma does not go away completely. Furthermore, there is also the matter of dealing with the fear of cancer coming back. This fear of recurrence can actually cripple you if you do not have a positive attitude. That being said, you would be still better off than the HL (Hodgkin’s lymphoma) that does not go away.

With this let us look into the matter of dealing with chronic cancer. We say this because if the HL is not treated to its completion, you would have to make some necessary life decisions in order to make sure that you are actually able to live properly.

Dealing with Chronic HL Lymphoma

When any form of cancer is chronic, you would feel terrible, and you would need all the emotional and physical support that you can get. This goes twice when it comes to this rare form of lymphoma. Your lifestyle is dictated by fear of the malignancy growing and harming you in more ways that you can imagine. As the disease is not completely gone, the chances of recurrence are always going to be there. That being said, they can be controlled for months and if the conditions are right. The cycle of remission and recurrence should be kept in check to make sure that your life is managed in a proper manner.

Deciding upon which treatment to go for

As one thing is certain that the disease cannot be cured completely, you need to make sure that you have at least some options to make sure that you have more time. When the choices come, you need to discuss it with some individuals and inside a group therapy. Once you have reached a proper decision, then that would be the best one for you. Other technical factors that are going to dictate your treatment involve the following:

• The Cause of lymphoma
• The schedule of treatment
• How often do recurrences happen
• How aggressive is the cancer
• Your health
• How old are you?
• Can your body even sustain the treatment?
• How well can cancer respond to your treatment?
• The type of treatment you wish.

One thing you have to understand here that every treatment option that would be presented before you are for only one thing-stalling the disease long enough to give you enough time to live. To that end, it is necessary that you curb your expectations and prepare yourself mentally. The entire care is going to palliative meant for managing the symptoms.

Palliative care: the only left resort

As we have already mentioned in the previous section, when we are talking about the palliative section, it is meant to manage your symptoms and give you emotional and physical relief. This type of care is not exclusive in the late stages of lymphoma; it is also given before, during and after the cancer treatment.

The physical symptoms that are to be controlled are as follows:

• Nausea
• Pain
• Lethargy
• Shortness of breath
• Pain in bones

The emotional symptoms that the palliative treatment is directed towards involve:

• Stree
• Depression

When normal life becomes subjective?

Dealing with an HL that is not completely treated is going to be a difficult endeavor. You would feel the symptoms almost every day and would have to control it every day as well. To that end, the meaning of normalcy after this phase becomes subjective to your needs. You can say that Hodgkin’s lymphoma has become the part of your life now and not losing hope is what is going to get you through the day. However, this hope may be tested in the following cases:

• When recurrence tends to happen a lot.
• The pain at times might not go away.
• You might feel absolutely helpless when the realization comes.

Lymphoma is cancer and cancer is the most uncertain medical mystery every to exist. Your life would mirror this uncertainty now. To that end, it is necessary that you gather hope as soon as possible. To do so, you can prefer the following ideas:

• Being informed about the things that you can control.
• Being aware of your own fears and tackling them with the assistance of others.
• Being able to express yourself through art.
• Being able to make sure that you can the moments that you do have left.
• Being mindful about the things that you want.
• Being positive about everything in life.
• Being focused on conserving the energy that you have left and being as healthy as possible.
• Being able to find ways in order to relax yourself.

Living with Hodgkin’s lymphoma is something that few suffer. If you want to make most of the time you have left or even want to improve upon the time that you have, you must be able to follow through a healthy lifestyle and have a positive mental attitude.