Mantle cell lymphoma: How long do I have? What's next?
I was diagnosed in February 2021, chemo treatments for about six months, in remission now, for about two years, I am just wondering, what’s the next? Anyone beyond this point
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Good morning, @denyelle18. Congratulations on being in remission for 2 years! It’s a wonderful feeling when you get test results back with no sign of disease. But I also know it can sometimes feel like you’re waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. It’s important to always stay focused forward and try not to let those thoughts take up a permanent location in your head. They can interfere with your enjoyment of the life you have right now!
No one can really answer that question of what’s next because each person’s experience will be different. You’ve had great success with the chemo treatments to put you into remission. How long a remission lasts can be difficult to predict and from what I understand it can depend on the original risk factor of your disease whether you were in the slow growing or aggressive category.
However, if your mantle cell lymphoma does make a reappearance, there are several types of treatments available such as targeted treatments, chemo, immunotherapy, maintenance, Car T cell therapy or a stem cell transplant. So there are options ahead of you.
I found a couple of very good articles for you that explains MCL and treatments. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24030-mantle-cell-lymphoma
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https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/what-to-know-about-mantle-cell-lymphoma-symptoms-diagnosis-and-treatment.h00-159385101.html
We also have several members in our forum with MCL. Two discussions to get your feet wet would be this one with @angelu94 @arbutus @shirlpat and many more members:
Mantle Cell Lyphoma:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mantle-cell-lymphoma/
And this discussion: Just diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma and looking for input with @nhlbob
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/just-diagnosed-with-mantle-cell-lymphoma-23-and-looking-for-input/
How often do you have followup blood work? What has your hematologist mentioned about the success of your treatment?