Bendamustine and Rituximab

[emmiekay]

Hi, I will be starting BR on Dec. 2nd and would love to hear from those who have had this treatment...pros and cons. Anything I need to know? I had R-CHOP in 2007 for Richter's, looks like the remission is over.

[Reem-ayoub]

Hi. My husband finished his first session of BR. It's a 2-day session. The first day is both R and B and second day is only B. He felt a little tired and sleepy for 3 days after and had some hot flushes mainly in the face. Overall he tolerated it very well. He has mantle cell lymphoma and is 49 years old with no other health problems. We have our next session December 5 and 6. Will let you know what it's like. Best of luck.

Reem

Ps I forgot to mention something but not sure if the answer. Two nodes in his neck were visible second week after treatment. Dr said it happens as a reaction to treatment sometimes. Not convinced if it's a side effect or something new. Will see dr during next treatment.

[bigunwill2]

I had 6 B and R starting November 30 last year ending in April. I also got Nuelasta shot on the 3rd day each month. I'm 69 and tolerated the treatment very well. I felt "yucky" for 4 or 5 days the first week mainly from constipation. I learned the last round to be very proactive and it wasn't as bad. You need to drink no less than 8 glasses of water a day and more if you can. After 1st week I felt good except for fatigue.

I was given an antiviral med to ward off shingles. I had also had shingles shot 3 years before. I did get very light case of shingles but got to doc within 48 hours and was given larger dose of antiviral and shingles were gone in about a week.

Two other reactions came after 4th round--itching especially on scalp and reaction to mosquito bites. The dr gave me an anti-itch medication that worked well.

If you have any skin reactions I recommend going to dermatologist that is familiar with chemo reactions. I went to regular dermatologist that I really liked but she was unfamiliar with reactions. I now go to one at UTSW where my oncologist is.

I had 12 radiation treatments 1 1/2 months after treatment for the lymph node that caused the start of treatment. In August my PET scan showed no "glowing" lymphs-- so remission. My blood counts, especially WBC and lymphocytes are still low. Will have blood test tomorrow.

During treatment I took extra precautions--since it was flu season--to avoid crowds, wear a mask (which I did till last of August) when I was out shopping. I did not want anything to delay any of my treatments. Wearing a mask is a pain, but it worked.

Best of luck on your treatments.

[Reem-ayoub in reply to bigunwill2]

Hi Bigunwill2! What type of NHL did you have? Glad you are in remission. All the best.

[bigunwill2 in reply to Reem-ayoub]

I have CLL trisomy 12. It was border line SLL because of size of lymph node.

[momof12]

I went through this...it wasn't too bad for me after the first day. I was just tired and a little nauseated. I got a Neulasta shot on the first day and I thought this was worse! It made me feel much more sick! Best of luck..it will be ok. I got a full remission back in May when it ended. Going to get scans next week and I'm hoping its still under control!

[kc1953]

Hello emmikay. I completed 6 rounds of BR for unmutated deletion 11q CLL/SLL exactly a year ago. I had a CR and on the cusp of MRD-. I've been fine since. The stuff works well.

As others have said, drink plenty of water the during the two days of treatment and the first few days after. Side effects may include constipation, nausea, flu like symptoms, low grade fevers, fatigue and general malaise. Your docs will do labs around 10-14 days into cycle to see how you are doing and to advise you and take precautionary measures if labs are way out of normal. Generally I tolerated it well, worked full time, vacationed, exercised etc. But often felt far less than 100%.

The thing I wasn't prepared for were the more psychological aspects. I found the concept of the massive amount of toxic chemicals in my system kind of creepy. The first few treatments, whenever I had some weird side effect I would worry and wonder when the next shoe would drop. It never did. So just be prepared that the process will seem a bit scary at first, and don't hesitate to call your hematologist if you have any concerns. Be kind to yourself and let your body tell you what you can handle. But also be prepared for fatigue especially as you get more rounds under your belt. The funny thing about chemo fatigue is that sometimes the best thing is to do some kind of exercise or activity if you can. That often lessened it for me, and helped psychologically. Good luck.