In June, I was called to the hospital to go over my test results. I went with my wife and baby and was shocked when they told me I had follicular lymphoma.
Later, the haematology team explained that because it was a low-grade lymphoma and I didn’t have any serious symptoms, they would use an active monitoring or “watch and wait” approach. In short, I didn’t need treatment right away. It took me months to accept that my lymphoma wasn’t going to kill me anytime soon and that I didn’t even need treatment yet.
During that time, I had panic attacks, cried a lot, and felt helpless and upset. It was suggested I visit the Maggie’s Centre at the hospital, which really helped me. I also found Lymphoma Action and went to a Special Focus Meeting, which was very valuable.
It was decided that I would have treatment with rituximab. The goal was to delay the need for any other treatment from an average of 3 years to 10 years, which is amazing. Not long after the rituximab treatment, I had another PET scan that showed I had responded really well and was now in remission.
My care has been moved to a hospital near where I now live. We found the perfect little house near the seaside, and we’re enjoying going to the beach and eating fish and chips as much as we can.