Brought to you by
Dr. Lane Lester

I hope you find this article about lymphoma both interesting and helpful.

Many times along the course of the treatment of lymphoma, the patient would feel so depressed and bone weary. Treatments of lymphoma are often invasive and painful that almost all patients who come out of it are drained and bone weary. Many patients are even too tired to get out of bed for weeks after the treatment especially if the treatments are invasive like chemotherapy where the patient would start losing his or her hair and feel nauseated most of the time. Where the patient has always had a delicate countenance, recovery after treatment could take more time than those people who have been leading active lives before they contracted lymphoma.

In cases where the patient would prefer to stay in bed and be left alone after treatment, the family members and friends should not insist that they get out of bed for the first few days. It is a fact that after treatment, nobody would want to go out and play so just let the patient be for the time being. However, after the first few days and the patient starts to really get depressed, it is now time to encourage the patient to start getting up and setting near the window. It would help to lift the spirits of the patients if they see some green things outside so open the windows every day whenever the patient is up.

Many patients would want to stay in bed long after the treatment is over. It is now up to the caregiver, the family members and friends to coax the patient to go outside and breath some fresh air. However, always bear in mind that after a long treatment and the time the patient have spent in bed, the patient's muscles could weaken and he or she may not have enough strength to get up and get out of the room by him/herself. There are cases where the patient, even if willing to get out of bed is too physically weak to do so. When this happens, therapy may be needed to awaken the muscles of the patient. Massage could do wonders to those otherwise frozen limbs and improve blood circulation.

It is very important that the patient do not lose hope. The family members and friends should always make it a point to encourage the patient to have faith and continue to be optimistic. If your family belongs to a church, it is very important that the patient should have some contact with other church members especially the priest or the pastor. Faith can move mountains and there are many people who have miraculously recovered from illness simply because they have faith. Having members of your congregation visit the patient once in a while would help lift the patient's depressed mood. It is also an opportunity to convince the patient to go out of the door and entertain his or her visitors. Make it a point that when the patient is strong enough to get up and sit outside of his or her room, all visitors should be entertained outside of the patient's room.

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