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This blog provides information on what you can expect to experience while undergoing ABVD Chemotherapy — the most common regimen of treatment given for both early and advanced stage Hodgkin’s Disease (or if you prefer Hodgkin Lymphoma). HL is a rare cancer of the immune system that most commonly effects young adults between the ages of 15 and 35.
The blog is not meant as a substitute for medical advice or to take the place of the information provided by your doctors and nurses. Always consult them for any questions or concerns you have.
That said, what I wanted to know when I was diagnosed with HL in 2007 was what was ABVD going to REALLY be like. I didn’t want to hear about it second hand, I wanted to hear it straight from someone who went through it. And if that was what was on MY mind, it had to be on other people’s minds too.
Hence this blog.
A little bit about your author. She’s a runner with a dark sense of humor and was diagnosed with HL when she was 26 years old in 2007. She was stage III/IV-A bulky and underwent eight cycles of ABVD chemotherapy. As of April 2010, she’s been in remission for three years despite a poor initial prognosis given the extent of her disease.
With that here are the articles on this site:
- A Brief History of Dr. Hodgkin and His Disease. You want to know the history of the disease you’ve been diagnosed with? Go here.
- ABVD for Newbies. Here’s the heart of the site — what you can expect from ABVD.
- Mediports. Since so many people ask questions about them, my information on ports.
Please feel free to leave comments (comments are held for moderation just to avoid spam). The webmaster checks in from time to time to update the info and to approve comments.
Just wanted to thank you, Jenny, for what you’ve done with this site. What a brilliant contribution you’ve made. My nephew has just started his Hodgkin’s journey – and this site has answered so many questions for us all in a wonderfully clear, empowering way. Congratulations.
Linda
Jenny, wanted to thank you for this site which I stumbled on before I started my own ABVD – it was exactly what I was looking for! I have now included a link to your site on my own blog http://kirstenejlskov.wordpress.com rather than repeat a lot of the info.
Kirsten
Jenny,
I am starting abvd tomorrow and looking at the last tidbits of info before I go in for treatment.
Thank You
John
John,
How are you?
My daughter starts her treatment Wednesday.
I’d love to hear from you.
Traci
Traci,
I am exactly just over 1/2 way through my chemo treadments, I am doing 6 cycles for a total of 12 ABVD chemo treatments, I get chemo every two weeks, they follow that with a neulasta shot to increase my white blood cell count, after my initial treatment there were very few white blood cells so I have been getting the neulasta shots ever since. I was diagnosed with stage 3 hodgkins lymphoma. After 3 cycles and meeting with the doctor today, he is very pleased with the treatments, I have been able to not miss any work and get through it. If you want to call me I am available tomorrow and would be happy to answer any questions or any concerns. Some great resources for me is the dana farber cancer website, one of the best, and my nurses. God bless you, I will include your family in my prayers.
John,
With all of the craziness going on here, I have not been back to visit and look for your reply. My daughter (Sara) could not start her treatment last week due to an infection in a molar…..so her first treatment was yesterday. Sara was downgraded from Stage IIIB to IIB after the PET scan and bone marrow aspiration two weeks ago. She will have 6 treatments over 12 weeks. How are you now? Are you on Facebook?
Great news, except for the molar. Let me know how it goes, we should finish up about the same time, Get the tums and gatorade ready to go, and if Sara has to get neulasta shots, I recommend taking claritin a few days before and after to help with bone pain. Good Luck
No one mentioned the tums but certainly the Gatorade and even the Claritin for the bone pain following the neulasta shots (hopefully she wont need them). Any advice on dental issues? I have heard about mouth sores and dry mouth.
Traci,
I did have mouth problems early on, I just drank alot of milk and that took care of it, but recently it hasn’t been that bad. Just the taste buds get kind of wierd, but other than that not too horrible. Not fun, but tolerable.