Do not stop taking your medicine unless directed by your primary healthcare provider. Never save antibiotics or take leftover antibiotics that were given to you for another illness.
- Antinausea medicine: This medicine may be given to calm your stomach and prevent vomiting.
- Pain medicine: You may need medicine to take away or decrease pain.
- Learn how to take your medicine. Ask what medicine and how much you should take. Be sure you know how, when, and how often to take it.
- Do not wait until the pain is severe before you take your medicine. Tell caregivers if your pain does not decrease.
- Pain medicine can make you dizzy or sleepy. Prevent falls by calling someone when you get out of bed or if you need help.
- Steroids: This medicine may be given to decrease inflammation.
Ask for information about where and when to go for follow-up visits:
For continuing care, treatments, or home services, ask for more information.Your caregiver will check the size of your lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. Tell your caregiver about any new symptoms or side effects from your treatment. You may have blood tests to see how well your treatment is working. A sample of your bone marrow may be sent to a lab for testing. You may also have imaging tests, such as a chest x-ray or an ultrasound. Ask your caregiver for more information about these or other tests that you may need.
- After treatment, your caregiver will see how your body is responding. You may have many different responses. These responses may stay the same (a stable response) or get better or worse. Your caregiver will use your response to help him decide whether you need more treatment, such as chemotherapy. You may respond to treatment in any of the following ways:
- Complete remission: If you have a complete remission (response) after treatment, your blood tests become normal again. Your spleen, liver, or lymph nodes will be normal sized. You will not have symptoms such as fatigue or sweating.
- Partial remission: You may have a partial response to treatment. During partial remission, you may still have signs and symptoms of CLL. Your body will have fewer damaged lymphocytes than before treatment. Your body may also produce enough red blood cells. Your caregiver may not be able to feel large lymph nodes under your skin. Your liver and spleen may become smaller.
- Minimal residual disease: You may have minimal residual disease. This means that you have very few cancer cells left in your body.
- Progressive disease: If you have progressive disease, your CLL is getting worse. Your body may not be making enough red blood cells or platelets. Your lymph nodes, spleen, and liver may get larger.
- Relapse: You may relapse after having a complete or partial response to treatment. This means that you have signs and symptoms of progressive disease. Your blood tests may become abnormal again. Your lymph nodes, spleen, and liver may get larger.
- Refractory disease: Refractory disease means that you do not get better with treatment. You may need other treatments, such as a stem cell transplant.
This medicine, often called chemo, is used to treat cancer. Chemotherapy may be used to shrink lymph nodes that have cancer in them. Many different chemotherapy medicines are used to treat cancer. You may need blood tests often. These blood tests show how your body is doing and how much chemotherapy is needed. Chemotherapy can have many side effects. Caregivers will watch you closely and will work with you to decrease side effects. Chemotherapy may help you feel better or live longer.
This is a treatment using x-rays or gamma rays to treat cancer. Radiation kills cancer and keeps the cancer from spreading. It also keeps cancer cells from dividing into new cells, which is one way cancer spreads. Lymph nodes with cancer are also treated with radiation. It may also be given with chemotherapy. Radiation may shrink your lymph nodes and spleen.
Eating well with cancer and cancer treatment:
Good nutrition can:
- help you feel better during treatment and decrease treatment side effects
- decrease your risk