Most patients with HD end up cured.
The survival rates in Canada are as good, or better than any other country
in the world..........

Where are you?

Hi cyBORG,

I'm 32, and just finished chemo and was declared in remission for the
same type of cancer you've been diagnosed with. Like you, I had no "B"
symptoms, but I had very "bulky" disease in my chest (12cm). "Bulky" is
considered 10cm or >, or 1/3
of the chest cavity. Although everyone's treatment protocol is
different, and I am definetly NOT a doctor, I would expect that you
would have chemo only, and no radiation if you are stage I or II. Based
on conversations with my onc, and lots of personal research, radiation
therapy isn't being used like it used to, for the treatment of
Hodgkin's. Generally only those with advanced disease (stage III or IV,
or Bulky like me) are receiving radiation treatment. Today, the
standard chemo being used for Hodgkin's is ABVD, which stands for
Adriamicyn, Bleomicyn, Velban, Dacarbazine (spellings?). Other chemo
regimens being used to treat Hodgkin's is Stanford V, BEACOPP, and
MOPP, but the ABVD is considered the "Gold Standard". I completed 4
cycles (8 treatments) of ABVD at the end of August. While the ABVD
chemo was no walk in the park, I can think of things that was much
worse to deal with. I was told I would loose my hair, but did not. It
just stopped growing, and thinned out some. I've had one haircut since
April. Another fellow I know going through the same thing is
experiencing the same hair conditions that I did.

This may sound bad but for what it's worth, if you had to get cancer,
Hodgkin's is the one to have. If you need to talk, just drop me a line.
I am more than happy to share my experiences. Good Luck to you!

Mr_CNC

Hello Cyborg and welcome to alt.support.cancer

Steph's an oncologist in BC so let us know once you have all the information.
J

Thanks for the info so far everyone, very encouraging!

My doctor has suggested as well that this is highly curable; although I
worry some post-hodgkins problems, I'm sure that right now that's the least
of my concerns.

Congrats Mr_CNC; good to hear your treatment is going well; hopefully I'll
join your ranks soon :-)

Just waiting on a call from a hematologist to get staged I guess... hope
there aren't too many long scary needles!  :-o

Thanks again for your replies.

Cheers;
-cyBORG

ps: Yes I'm in Nova Scotia, near the Halifax International Airport.

Hi...

My older brother was diagnosed with NSHD back in 1999; he now is in remission,
thank God.  This particular form of Hodgkin's Disease is highly curative, but
I must tell you that the treatments are exhaustive and more often than not,
you'll want to quit.  DON'T!!

Gary (my brother) wrote a lengthy narrative regarding his diagnosis,
treatments, side-effects, what to expect, how you'll feel, et cetera...  and
created a Web page specifically for people with this type of HD.  If you, or
anyone you know, is interested in reading about what you're going to endure
and what to expect, PLEASE contact me at: Amethyst_Roses [at] yahoo.com and I
will give you the Web address, as well as my brother's e-dress so that you
may contact him personally.  (He has given me express permission to give out
this info)

I know I'm a little late in replying to your post, but I only just discovered
this site...  I hope you're feeling better and I also hope to hear from you -
or anyone - who would like to read Gary's narrative and/or contact him.