Interview 93

Age at interview: 84

Age at diagnosis: 70

Brief Outline: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed in 1991 after finding a swollen lymph gland. Given oral chemotherapy then radiotherapy. Recurrence in 1994 treated with chemotherapy (CHOP). Second recurrence in 2005 treated with radiotherapy.

Background: Retired from Royal Navy, married with two adult children. Ethnic Background: White British.

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He noticed a floating gland in his neck and presented it to his ENT specialist at a routine consultation about his hearing. A week later the specialist biopsied several lymph glands in his neck that proved he had a low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. After a series of further tests he was given a course of chemotherapy in the form of pills to take at home. This was followed by a course of radiotherapy to his neck and shoulder, five days a week for three weeks.

 

During remission he took part in a trial to see whether taking vitamin D could lengthen remission periods. He had to leave the trial when, after three years in remission, he developed urinary symptoms and his GP ordered tests that showed his liver had become infected. He was put on a course of chemotherapy called CHOP, which was administered intravenously every three weeks for nine months, after which he was in remission for ten years.

 

A second recurrence was indicated by palpable lymph nodes in his groin and he was given radiotherapy treatment. He received two low doses as part of a trial comparing this regimen with intensive high dose treatment over three weeks. At the time of interview he had just completed this treatment and he and his doctors were optimistic that it had worked.

 

After living 14 years with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he was diagnosed with high blood pressure; he controls it with medication and is trying to lose weight.

I’ve been slowly over the last year trying to lose weight, but that’s because I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. My wife suddenly was carted off to hospital and they found that she’d got a heart disease and very nearly drowned, both her lungs had topped right up with fluid. But I think it was the cause of suddenly sort of my blood pressure going through the roof without my realising it. I did a sort of routine check in with my doctor and she’d just got a brand new electronic blood pressure machine instead of the old stethoscope and this thing, and it sort of squawked and went off the board. 

 

Gosh.

 

And she tried it again and it wouldn’t work, so she got the old one out and listened and said,” My God.” But it was interesting. I don’t understand blood pressure but there are two readings' the top one was too high and the bottom one was too low, so how do you treat that?

 

I don’t know. Presumably it’s come down since?

 

It has a bit.

 

Or it’s more normal.

 

It has a bit, it has a bit, but I’m on pills for it and it seemed a good idea to try and lose a bit of weight.

He had radiotherapy twice for his low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma' once to his neck and shoulder, and later within a clinical trial for a recurrence in his groin.

I presented myself shortly thereafter to hospital, and from the start I was greatly impressed by the orderly efficiency of the place and the kindness of all the staff. The hospital ran their own tests on me to confirm the diagnosis and to establish the extent of the lymphoma. Following a mild form of chemo, a regimen of pills, I was given a longish course of radiotherapy on my neck and shoulder. Happily this was considered successful and I was on remission for some time. 

 

So after that you had a very long remission, about ten years, yes?

 

Yes, and it’s only this year, recently, that I’ve found that it’s recurring and that lymph nodes are increasing in size but at a rate which is commensurate with low grade.

 

So what were the symptoms of the recurrence, you could feel lymph nodes?

 

I could feel, well one of the places where they manifested themselves before, and again, was in the groin, which is the only place you can actually feel, the rest are internal. And they asked me again if I’d do a trial, and I was a little bit more careful about this one. They said that the Germans had got a theory that instead of having three weeks intensive radiotherapy at high doses, that two applications of a very low dose would do the same thing. And so I had one low dose, a blank day, back and another low dose, and we’re now waiting to see. But the first measurement, and the first sort of hands-on feel by the doctor reckoned that it was probably working, it seems to be smaller, which is good news because, you know, two low doses are infinitely preferable to three weeks turning up, I don’t know what the dose is they give you.