My lymphocyte count has doubled since my diagnosis in 2003. I have had no treatments since my diagnosis, and my cancer has not caused any significant health problems that I am aware of. I had open heart surgery in November to replace my aortic valve that may have been damaged by radiation treatments I had for Hodgkins Disease in 1967. My oncologist does not feel that I need any treatments yet. That will happen when I show a rapid doubling of my lymphocite count. I feel very fortunate that my cancer has not progressed much since 2003, and hopefully some curative drug will be developed before I need regular chemo intervention.

My blood work continues to get worse over time, but not at a rate that requires intervention yet. I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins in 2003, and my lymphocyte count has doubled since then, and my white count has also increased. My oncologist says that I don't need chemo yet. He said that a doubling of my count over a short period of time is the indicator for chemo. I have numerous enlarged lymph nodes, but they are not large enough to cause any problems. He indicated that I won't need chemo until I am in my 90's if I continue at the rate I am going. Hopefully, by that time there were be more treatment options. He is emphasizing weight loss as one thing I can do to help keep my lymphocyte count down to keep my insulin levels low. We continue with watchful waiting as the approach. I just has open heart surgery that my be related to the radiation treatments I had for the Hodgkin's disease that I had when I was 25.