DLBC-NHL : The facts

sanchayan
sanchayan
Jul 23, 2017 · 4 min read

This post is more to do with the facts that I have encountered the emotions that I have been through .

First Thoughts : As soon as I heard that I have lymphoma which is a type of cancer, the first thought is “Why me” . I have heard from many survivors that “Why me” is an angry phase where one goes through blaming the world and mostly to ones God, as Cancer is mostly unexplained ( except lung cancer due to smoking or other cancers due to tobacco). It is also relatively easy to find out folks around one who are unhealthy, obese or having multiple other problems but not cancer. Thankfully I did not have the “Why Me” syndrome but for a brief period when I heard the news. It can also be because of the fact that DLBCL-NHL is curable to a large extent. I am not sure if it would have been somethign way more non-curable what would have been my state of mind. Crying helps, it has very soothing effect and the human mind typically tries to counter that with calmness of mind.

I note a few points which personally felt helped me :

  1. Read — Knowing about your cancer is very helpful. It helps you understand and prepare and there is a ceratin geek factor to it. I am pretty stoked about the B-Cell’s going rogue on me . Also that Follicular Lymphoma can morph into DLBC . Good places to read is American Cancer Society, “Emperor of Maladies” , Stanford Lymphoma Center.
  2. Share & seek support — Try sharing the news to your near and dear friends and groups. Typically cancer is soemthing where people will react with empathy, and support. It will make you feel good about the folks that you are surrounded with. Cancer and the thought of “Why me” can sometimes lead to spiralling negative thoughts , surrounding yourself with folks who know about your situation will help in reaching out and have the necessary support system.
  3. Sharing news to parents will be tough — If you are young and is a cancer patient, chances are that disclosing it to ones parents is the toughest thing one has to encounter. For me it was way tougher than even knowing that I have cancer. My parents are very close to me and it was quite devastating for them to learn that their eldest son has cancer. There is no best way to break the news, but it is better to do in person and have some members of the family present to provide 3rd party validation of the question “ Is it curable” and “ How long it will take”
  4. Insurance — Make sure you have robust solid insurance, in my case due to my situation of being laid off, I had let it lapse. I had to get COBRA enable, but that was an afterthought. COBRA can take a long time, but in my case I could get it done within 24 hours due to some very helpful folks at my office and at our SHDR ( Stanley Hunt Dupree & Rhine) . Kudos to them.
  5. Short term disability — You should try for short term disability if you are allowed. This is a period of time where your body is undergoing some good amount of stress and if you can reduce work stress, it will be a big plus. Monetarily it works out good, as CA pays 55% of previous years base pay without tax which is a pretty decent number, given the amount of taxes we pay in CA.
  6. Habits — This is a good time to re-prioritize ones life. And here I am talking about the small things of life not some large goals. Note health is a priority from now on. I personally had picked up bunch of sloppy habits like not having breakfast, or not taking enough water, eating too much spicy Indian buffetts etc.. I am prioritizing my health over such.

With the above comes some realities which if you do not have cancer you may fix it today .

  1. Term Insurance — once you get cancer even though you may have chance to get cured you pretty much would be pariah for the insurance world. So get a term insurance right away. For some cancers like DBC-Lymphoma, after 24ESF ( Event Free Survival) technically you are as good as never having it. I do have to try it out thiguh with the insurance companies. Will post once I get feedback.
  2. Out of Job& inbetween — Get COBRA immediately, you never know when Sh*t happens
  3. Health First — If you have cancer or a cancer survior health first should be your motto. 24–48 months are the crucial ones. Logging and talking about it helps too.
sanchayan

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sanchayan

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