Treatment
Standard treatment is CHOP-R, also referred to as "R-CHOP", an improved form of CHOP with the addition of rituximab (Rituxan), which has increased the rates of complete responses for DLBL patients, particularly elderly patients. R-CHOP is a combination of one monoclonal antibody, 3 chemotherapy drugs, and one steroid: rituximab (Rituxan), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) doxorubicin(Hydroxydaunorubicin), vincristine (Oncovin), and prednisone. Chemotherapy is most often administered intravenously and is most effective when it is administered multiple times over a period of months (e.g. every 3 weeks, over 6 to 8 cycles). For someone who will be receiving chemotherapy it is suggested they have a PICC (Peripherally inserted central catheter) in their arm near the elbow, and the catheter will extend through one of the large veins to within centimeters of the heart. Radiation is another common treatment and is most effective if done prior to the chemotherapy, or as the last treatment after chemotherapy has been completed.
Read more about this topic: Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, “Go to sleep by yourselves.” And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“I feel that any form of so called psychotherapy is strongly contraindicated for addicts.... The question “Why did you start using narcotics in the first place?” should never be asked. It is quite as irrelevant to treatment as it would be to ask a malarial patient why he went to a malarial area.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly, I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion. I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art.”
—Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 B.C.)