Hello!! I am writing on behalf of my dad. He was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in October 2019, he is 76 years old. He went through 5 months of chemotherapy (R-DHAP) and was deemed to be in remission from a PET scan. He was about to prep for stem cell transplant... however, they found some more abnormal cells after a bone marrow biopsy so they put him on Calquence/Acalabrutinib for 3 months with 1 dose of Rituximab. He hasn't had any chemo since late February... and that last chemo really did a number on his blood counts.
ok, after that intro, my question is this: he is mainly worried about 2 things right now - his consistently low blood counts (despite Zarxio shots 2-3 times a week) and the debilitating headaches from Calquence. He is unable to sleep because of the headaches, and is pretty much under house arrest (not even able to work in his woodshop) from the low blood counts. Can you give me any words of advice or comfort to put him at ease and convince him that this is NOT going to last forever? Caffeine certainly helps with the headaches, but obviously doesn't help with his being unable to sleep. He is going to try Excedrin Tension Relief or Migraine Relief but is a bit concerned about the aspirin in it.
It's more just the anxiety of thinking this is never going to end... has anyone here gone through this and can offer advice?
Thanks so much in advance,
Shelby
