Lymphoma recovery regieme



gavinb

New Member
Jan 14, 2004
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Is there anyone out there who has been through ABVD Chemo for Lymphoma? If so how did you go about getting on the road to fitness again? There is **** loads of info out there on the cancer, the chemo treatment, etc but there is nothing out there on how to recover frome the effects of being poisioned by chemo!!

In Dec I was diagnosed with the following
- Classical Hodgkin lymphoma, Thymus
- Nodular sclerosis
- Type 1
- LCA(-), CD20(+), CD30(+), CD15(+), MUM-1(+), MIB-1(+)
and the docs popped me onto a 6 month course of ABVD with the prognosys of a 98%. Fantastic, but now I'm comming out the far side, with the tumor hopfully gone, but level of fitness is shot to pieces and my abnormally huge lungs feel shot. According to the nurses, this is what most normal humans feel like and I was lucky to have had such a great physiology at the start.

My thought is long base leve rides, anyone else got any thoughts.
 
gavinb said:
Is there anyone out there who has been through ABVD Chemo for Lymphoma? If so how did you go about getting on the road to fitness again? There is **** loads of info out there on the cancer, the chemo treatment, etc but there is nothing out there on how to recover frome the effects of being poisioned by chemo!!

In Dec I was diagnosed with the following
- Classical Hodgkin lymphoma, Thymus
- Nodular sclerosis
- Type 1
- LCA(-), CD20(+), CD30(+), CD15(+), MUM-1(+), MIB-1(+)
and the docs popped me onto a 6 month course of ABVD with the prognosys of a 98%. Fantastic, but now I'm comming out the far side, with the tumor hopfully gone, but level of fitness is shot to pieces and my abnormally huge lungs feel shot. According to the nurses, this is what most normal humans feel like and I was lucky to have had such a great physiology at the start.

My thought is long base leve rides, anyone else got any thoughts.

Start very slow and don't expect much at all. As a result of the chemo, I'm sure your body's has been severely deconditioned, maybe more than if you'd just spent a year or two on your ass.

I can't even begin to imagine how tough the chemo was and how you physically feel since it's done, but maybe I can give you an idea with my experience. In November, I had an organ transplant that had me in the hospital for 3 weeks and homebound, with virtually no activity beyond walking around and shitting, allowed for another 6 weeks. When I was clear of that last 6 weeks, I got on the bike and was able to pedal just over 3 miles. It felt like pedaling at 20,000 ft. It's taken a lot longer to get on the road back to where I was before the surgery.

Talk to your doctors and see what they have to say. As I said though, don't carry any high expectations about how quickly you'll be able to pile on the miles.
 
Hi Gavinb,

I realise you posted this a few months back but I've only just registered.

I too had Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was diagnosed in June 2008 with Stage 2. I then went through six months of ABVD exactly like yourself. At the time of diagnosis I was extremely fit, swimming 3hrs a week, cycling 8hrs a week and running 3hrs a week on average. The chemo completely shattered me. I didn't do any exercise apart from the odd small walk. My first attempt at exercising following the chemo was in May 2009, 5 months after finishing it. This didn't go quite according to plan though :)

I hope you're doing well. Drop me a line and we can chat some and compare notes :D

Best Wishes
berrymoss

gavinb said:
Is there anyone out there who has been through ABVD Chemo for Lymphoma? If so how did you go about getting on the road to fitness again? There is **** loads of info out there on the cancer, the chemo treatment, etc but there is nothing out there on how to recover frome the effects of being poisioned by chemo!!

In Dec I was diagnosed with the following
- Classical Hodgkin lymphoma, Thymus
- Nodular sclerosis
- Type 1
- LCA(-), CD20(+), CD30(+), CD15(+), MUM-1(+), MIB-1(+)
and the docs popped me onto a 6 month course of ABVD with the prognosys of a 98%. Fantastic, but now I'm comming out the far side, with the tumor hopfully gone, but level of fitness is shot to pieces and my abnormally huge lungs feel shot. According to the nurses, this is what most normal humans feel like and I was lucky to have had such a great physiology at the start.

My thought is long base leve rides, anyone else got any thoughts.
 
berrymoss said:
Hi Gavinb,

I realise you posted this a few months back but I've only just registered......

BerryMoss, thanks for the reply. I sounds as if your body reacted to the cancer/chemo the same way as mine has. I'm six months out of chemo and clear of the lymphoma, what a difference a year makes. The fatigue is what no-one tells you about, I just starting to string active days together as opposed to just hours, but I keep on overdoing it and blowing up. I in the process of building a stable yard at home so that lets me just do enough to keep me from going crazy, but my lungs still feel shot to pieces. I'm starting to get back on the bike and using my trusty HRM to shackle me into zone 1, so dull!!

I was discussing the situation with my onchologist and there has been a study into fatigue caused by cancer/chemo and Lymphoma wins hands down. The study was based on testicular, breast and lymphoma, as they all have very high success rates, but as they are so curable there isn't much research into the post chemo follow-up. They don't tell you that when you start, but hay, we beat the cancer.

I'd love to have any further thoughts, as you are that but further down the road. LivingStrong.

Gavin