When a person is diagnosed with a condition known as lymphoma, his life should evolve in more than just having laboratory tests and deciding what treatment to take. During the entire course of the treatment and several years following its completion, there are many other issues that would come and go, like coping with side effects from treatments, possible remission and relapse, understanding the concepts of disease response, and arranging for necessary funding for the treatment. The immediate family of the patient should also readily provide support in any form other than financial. The issues should be immediately understood and addressed.

Remember that lymphoma treatment could be long and very complicated. Every type of treatment (radiation, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, and antibodies) could bring about its own complications and issues. There are known side effects of taking such lymphoma treatments. They include hair loss, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, sore mouth, and sore skin. Red blood and white blood count could also fall as such cells could also be killed along with cancer cells during treatment. In some cases, there is nausea, vomiting, and difficulty or pain in swallowing and drinking.

For the financial aspect, understand that lymphoma treatment could be significantly expensive. Several treatments and drugs may be covered under health insurances and government grants but still overall costs could be high. The patient could opt to take financial aid from the government specifically granted to cancer patients. There are even non-government organizations that provide financial support to lymphoma and other cancer patients.

The patient should understand treatment response as well as survival. When treatment is completed, the doctors should immediately assess treatment response. Once all diseases seem to have already disappeared, the patient has had a complete response. He is in a stage of remission. When the disease reappears in the future, there is a condition called a relapse. The patient should very well understand the possibility for both remission and relapse. The doctor should explain each very carefully to the patient.

There are issues following the lymphoma treatment. Patients who win the initial battle against the disease should still expect significant issues in the coming years. Lymphoma and the treatments used have long-term effects. The survivors battle is not yet over after complete recovery. In the coming years after the treatment, these could still be expected: cancer-related fatigue, infertility, memory problems, and possible heart damages.

Lastly, the lymphoma patient should not feel alone. The patient needs to feel that his battle against the disease is not fought by him alone. Moral and emotional support could be important. The family members and the loved ones of the patient could take significant roles in supporting the affected individual. Some people fail to recognize the fact that recovery from lymphoma goes beyond mere monetary expenses. Physical recovery from the disease should be complemented by emotional and mental recovery. In this aspect, making the patient feel loved and supported by people around him would definitely help.

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The most commonly used treatments for lymphoma are chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the administration or application of drugs infused into the veins of the patients. Chemotherapy could also be taken in the form of oral pills. Radiotherapy uses high-energy light rays that are specially and strategically directed at the cancer cells targeted. This form of therapy could be delivered even over small body areas (involved field radiation) or over large areas (extended field radiation).

Such lymphoma treatments are quite toxic. They are designed to strategically kill targeted cancer cells. It is not impossible that during the process, several normal cells are also being damaged. Thus, there are inevitable side effects. However, rest assured that most side effects of lymphoma treatments are only temporary. Such unlikely effects are resolved soon following completion of the treatments. Here are some of the commonly identified side effects of treatments used to cure lymphoma.

Feeling sick. There are chemotherapy drugs that could certainly make you feel nauseous or sick. There could even be several episodes of vomiting especially when chemotherapy comes with radiotherapy for the abdomen. Nausea is often prevented through administration of anti-emetics drugs prior to every cycle of chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy. These days, there are even medicines that help control nausea and vomiting.

Hair loss. Chemotherapy usually leads to excessive loss of hair. The extent of alopecia could depend on the drug used in the session. There are other effective drugs that could lead to this problem. However, there is no need to worry because hair is almost always beginning to grow back a few months after completion of the treatment. In some cases, it may take more than a year before hair growth restarts.

Falling blood count and infection. During the course of the radiotherapy or chemotherapy, your blood count could fall below optimal or normal levels. Needless to say, your white blood cells are the most affected. You know that when white cell counts dip, the body could develop several forms of infections, often accompanied by fever. Contact your doctor at once when fever appears. You might need special treatment to boost your white cell count and take care of the infection. Any drop in red blood cells could easily be remedied through blood transfusions.

Loss of appetite. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy could alter your sense of taste especially during the duration of the treatment. However, like in hair loss, the sense of taste may return to normal following completion of the lymphoma treatment. Meanwhile, you should strive to take even small meals and drink plenty of water and fluids more frequently. Remember the importance of maintaining your overall nutrition during the treatment.

Sore mouth and sore skin. Lymphoma treatments could lead to sore mouth several weeks after the start of the program. Thus, you could feel difficulty or even pain in drinking and swallowing food. In most cases, doctors recommend temporarily switching to mashed foods that are much easier to swallow. Radiotherapy could cause soreness on the skin. However, such a problem is of no concern as skin sores easily go away immediately after radiation treatment.

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