After 6 rounds of RCHOP - this happened

[Oceansiderj]

Finished my final round of RCHOP 3 weeks ago, midway point PET scan showed incredible progress. However yesterdays PET scan shows lesions on spleen actually grew.

How this happens and why ? Won’t have a doctor to explain anything until next Tuesday at the earliest.

[Charlie120920]

So sorry to hear this. My advice to you would be to ask your doctor if you could move on to CAR-T Cell treatment. I didn’t respond to R-CHOP or RGDP but then had CAR-T in March 2021 and that got me to remission. I’m not sure whether your Insurance would cover it though?

[LarryK in reply to Charlie120920]

Hi, I didn’t respond to R-Chop either. My doc pulled it after 3 sessions and switched to Bendamustine (for the curious, a type of mustard gas used in WWII). 4 sessions did the job. Had autologous stem cell afterwards which was the best practice 15 years ago. This was in 2010, before the advent of CAR-T. I haven’t any idea if that would be the best way to proceed after the R-CHOP failing. As you said, he definitely should consult with doctor.

[LarryK]

Hi, I didn’t respond to R-Chop either. My doc pulled it after 3 sessions and switched to Bendamustine (for the curious, a type of mustard gas used in WWII). 4 sessions did the job. Had autologous stem cell afterwards which was the best practice 15 years ago.

Rest of the story: I relapsed within 4 years (in orbits of the eye only) which wasn’t totally unusual. I was told after the stem cell transplant, maybe going on Rituximab maintenance for a couple of years might have prevented the relapse. Been on Imbruvica, one of several protein blockers, since 2015.