|
01-02-2009, 08:29 AM
I don't know which hospitals are best in Spain. However, I have been treated for Hodgkin's Disease.There are several different chemotherapy regimens used for Hodgkin's. The most common is ABVD, but there is also MOPP, BEACOPP, and Stanford V. MOPP is no longer commonly used, but BEACOPP and Stanford V are sometimes used in advanced disease. I had 8 cycles of ABVD. That's the most common and the one I know most about so I'll explain ABVD. A cycle of ABVD is 28-days long and consists of treatments on day 1 and 15. So 8 cycles of ABVD is 16 treatments. I had a treatment every other Friday for almost 8 months. ABVD is usually given for 4, 6, or 8 cycles. How many you get depends on the stage of your disease and how well you do with chemo.ABVD is given as an out-patient in a doctor's office or cancer center, though I had my first as an in-patient in the hospital because I was at high risk for some serious side effects because my HD was so severe. ABVD is given intravenously -- i.e. through a vein (many people get ports to make it easier). Three of the drugs are given through a syringe and are slowly injected over about 5 minutes or so, while the last drug is given as a drip over about an hour. It takes about 3 hours to get it.ABVD commonly causes nausea, fatigue, and hair loss. Less commonly, it can cause heart problems or lung problems. Hodgkin's Disease itself causes many symptoms including night sweats, itching, swollen nodes, pain when drinking alcohol, fevers, etc.I actually started feeling better with chemo because I was so sick to begin with. In general, I felt chemo made me feel like I had a bad flu for a few days. Then I would be fine until the next treatment. I would say it was not as bad as I expected.
|
Linear Mode
