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Living With Cutaneous Lymphoma
You have cancer.
Those three words can unleash a riptide of emotions, from disbelief to
anger to sadness to fear. All those emotions and more are normal and
can be allayed by asking questions, gaining information, and talking with
individuals who have either experienced the disease or understand its
normal course of action.
Many patients say they experience denial when they first hear the diagnosis.
“What do you mean I have cancer?” Cutaneous lymphoma does not
seem like cancer, feel like it or look like cancer the way we have come
to understand it. Other patients feel an intense desire to fix it – find the
treatment or medication that can make it go away. The reality is that
cutaneous lymphoma is a chronic disease with a high survival rate but no
cure – at least not yet.
Over the course of your disease, there may be times when symptoms are
present and quite intense and other times when you may experience a
period of remission, sometimes many years long. At those times, patients
feel that this is a disease that is entirely livable. However, during the
outbreaks, it can be uncomfortable, debilitating and depressing. Be
prepared for a roller coaster of emotions and physical feelings.
Also be prepared to try a variety of treatments before finding the one
or combination of treatments that work for you at that point in time.
Treatments may change over the course of living with cutaneous lymphoma
and new options are steadily becoming available.
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PART 4:
LIVING WITH CUTANEOUS
LYMPHOMA
Chapter 12
Overview
