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Watch and wait in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) is finally here. I say finally because “deintensifying treatment” has come to many other forms of cancer including prostate cancer. Years ago.
Let me be fully transparent. Watch and wait is for low-grade NHL . Early stage cancers only are eligible for a watch and wait treatment plan.
“Watch and wait” is somewhat of a misnomer in my experience. While the patient may want to wait before undergoing any conventional therapies, they should “pre-habilitate” with evidence-based non-conventional therapies including:
According to research, prehabilitation before any/all cancer therapies will enhance your response to therapy if you ever do choose to treat your NHL. Prehabiitation is tailor-made for watch and wait in NHL.
I was diagnosed with a pre-cancer stage of cancer. My cancer, multiple myeloma- also a blood cancer. My point is that my oncologist told me that there was nothing that I could do. I now know that my onc. was wrong.
While I probably would have progressed to full myeloma, I would have responded to therapy better when I underwent induction therapy and may have avoided many of the side effects that I now live with.
Have you been diagnosed with low-grade non-hodgkin lymphoma? If you would like to learn more about taking a watch and wait therapy plan, email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com
“What is watch and wait (active monitoring)?
If you have low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), your doctor may suggest you do not need to start treatment straight away.
Instead, you have regular tests and appointments to monitor the lymphoma and check for signs that you need to start treatment. This is called watch and wait. It may also be called active surveillance or active monitoring. It is a way of delaying treatment until it is needed.
Your doctor may suggest watch and wait if:
Low-grade lymphoma often develops slowly and you may not need treatment for a long time.
Even when you are not having any treatment for lymphoma, you will still see your cancer specialist regularly. At each appointment, they will check you for signs that you may need to start treatment. These signs might include:
If you are worried about delaying treatment, here are some helpful tips:
Although watch and wait can be difficult to adjust to at first, many people find it gets easier with time.