Most Common Side Effects:
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Swelling of legs, hands and feet
- Low platelet count
- Low red blood count
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Upper respiratory tract infection
Full Answer
What are the signs and symptoms of SLL?
CALQUENCE may cause serious side effects, including: Serious infectionscan happen during treatment with CALQUENCE and may lead to death. Your healthcare provider may... Bleeding problems (hemorrhage)can happen during treatment with CALQUENCE and can be serious and may lead to death. Your... Decrease ...
What to expect from SLL after treatment?
Common Side Effects Extreme fatigue Infections Hair loss Nausea and vomiting Diarrhea Heartburn, Constipation Mouth sores Aches and pains Low blood pressure Low levels of red cells, white cells and platelets in the blood Anemia (caused by a low red cell count) Rash
What is the prognosis of SLL?
A few things are linked to a higher risk of getting SLL: You have a condition that causes you to have a weak immune system, like HIV /AIDS. You've had chemotherapy. You live or work in a farming community. That's possibly because of exposure to pesticides and herbicides.
What are the most common side effects of CLL?
The most frequent serious side effects were pneumonia (15%), diarrhea (11%), and fever (9%) Serious side effects were reported in 50% of patients
What is the best treatment for SLL?
Chemotherapy is a key treatment for SLL and can often put the disease in remission, which means you no longer have any signs of cancer, although it can return. Monoclonal antibody therapy. These are drugs that act like man-made antibodies that specifically target cancer cells. They help your immune system destroy them.
What is a SLL?
Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) is a cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called a "lymphocyte," which helps your body fight infection. You may hear your doctor refer to SLL as a "non- Hodgkin's lymphoma ," which is a group of cancers that affect lymphocytes. When you have SLL, too many ineffective lymphocytes live ...
What to do if you have no symptoms?
Treatment. If you have no symptoms, your doctor might recommend "watchful waiting.". During this period, they'll monitor you and start treatment if the disease starts to get worse. If you need treatment, you have several options: Chemotherapy. You can get various chemotherapy drugs that kill your cancer cells.
How long does it take for a lymph node to be removed?
Then they'll make a cut and remove the lymph node. You can usually go home the same day. You'll have a small wound with a few stitches that can be removed in about a week.
How long does it take for a stem cell transplant to start?
After your transplant, it could take 2 to 6 weeks for the stem cells to multiply and start making new blood cells. During this time you may be in the hospital, or at the very least, will need to make visits every day to get checked by your transplant team.
What are stem cells used for?
Stem cells are in the news a lot, but usually when you hear about them they're referring to "embryo" stem cells that are used in cloning. The stem cells in a transplant are different. They live in your bone marrow and help make new blood cells. This procedure may use your own stem cells or stem cells from a donor.
Can radiation therapy cause nausea?
Sometimes radiation therapy is also used. This can be a tough process, because you may get side effects like nausea and mouth sores. Certain medications can make these side effects less severe. When the high-dose chemo is done, you'll start the transplant.
What causes SLL?
The current body of research suggests that up to 80% of people with SLL have some form of chromosome abnormality, although the types can vary significantly. 8
What is the difference between SLL and CLL?
With SLL, the accumulation of cancer cells occurs mainly in the lymph nodes but also can also affect the bone marrow. With CLL (the more common of the two diseases), cancer cells are mainly found in the bloodstream as well as bone marrow.
What are the different types of lymphoma?
Types of Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma 1 With SLL, the accumulation of cancer cells occurs mainly in the lymph nodes but also can also affect the bone marrow. 2 With CLL (the more common of the two diseases), cancer cells are mainly found in the bloodstream as well as bone marrow.
Why do doctors perform differential diagnosis for SLL?
Because the features of SLL are similar to those of other diseases (including many different types of lymphoma), doctors will typically perform a differential diagnosis to exclude other possible causes. This typically includes investigations for:
What are the B symptoms of lymphoma?
A swollen, tender abdomen (due to an enlarged spleen, or occasionally an enlarged liver) In addition, there may be so-called "B symptoms" that are commonly experienced with most types of cancer. These include: Between 5% and 10% of people with small lymphocytic lymphoma experience "B symptoms.".
Who is James Myhre?
James Myhre is an American journalist and HIV educator. Doru Paul, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology. Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells known as lymphocytes, specifically B-cell lymphocytes, that help the body fight infection.
What is the test for lymphoma?
Immunophenotyping is a test that can help diagnose or classify blood cancers like lymphoma or leukemia. The test employs a technology called flow cytometry that can identify the physical characteristics of a cell as it is passed in front of a laser beam at rapid speed. Blood, bone marrow, and other cell samples can be tested. 19
Immediate side effects
Immediate side effects happen when you have the treatment or very soon after you finish. The side effects depend on which treatments you have. Some common side effects of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia include:
Possible long term side effects
You might develop long term side effects weeks, months or years after treatment has ended. Some of these include:
Coping with late effects
It can be difficult to cope with problems that develop after treatment. You might feel that it's very unfair to have to cope with side effects as well as the leukaemia and its treatment.
What are the side effects of chemo?
The side effects you may experience depend on: 1 The intensity of chemotherapy 2 The drugs used during therapy 3 Your overall health and whether you have any chronic health conditions like diabetes or kidney disease
What is the risk of GVHD?
If you undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplantation, you're at risk of developing graft versus host disease (GVHD). GVHD develops when the donor's immune cells mistakenly attack the patient's normal cells. GVHD can be mild, moderate or severe - even life threatening. Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS).
Is GVHD a life threatening disease?
GVHD can be mild, moderate or severe - even life threatening. Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS). TLS is characterized by metabolic abnormalities caused by the sudden release of the cellular contents of dying cells into the bloodstream, which is induced by chemotherapy.
Is chemo toxic to blood cells?
ALL can cause a decrease in normal blood cell production. Chemotherapy is toxic to both normal blood cells ...
How long does it take for a chemo side effect to go away?
Mucositis. Mucositis, or inflammation of the lining of the mouth, throat or gut is a common and uncomfortable side effect of chemotherapy and some forms of radiotherapy. It usually starts about a week after the treatment has finished and goes away once your blood count recovers, usually a couple of weeks later.
How does chemotherapy affect the bone marrow?
Effects on the bone marrow. Chemotherapy affects the bone marrow’s ability to produce adequate numbers of blood cells. As a result, your blood count (the number of white cells, platelets and red cells circulating in your blood) will generally fall within a week of treatment. The length of time it takes for your bone marrow ...
What are some examples of bleeding?
bleeding or bruising, for example blood in your urine, faeces, or sputum; bleeding gums, or a persistent nose bleed. nausea or vomiting that prevents you from eating or drinking or taking your normal medications. severe diarrhoea, stomach cramps or constipation. coughing or shortness of breath.
Can all treatments cause side effects?
Side effects of ALL treatment. All treatments can cause side effects. However, the type and severity will vary between individuals, depending on the type of treatment used and how an individual responds to it. In general, more intensive treatment is associated with more severe side effects. It is important to report any symptoms you are having ...
What to do if your mouth is sore?
Soluble pain medication and other topical drugs (ones which can be applied to the sore area) can help. If the pain becomes more severe, stronger pain killers might be needed. It is important to keep your mouth as clean as possible while you are having treatment to help prevent infection.
Can chemo cause hair loss?
Hair loss. Hair loss is unfortunately a very common side effect of chemotherapy and some forms of radiotherapy.
How long does it take for hair to grow back after chemo?
It is, however, usually only temporary. The hair can start to fall out within a couple of weeks of treatment and tends to grow back three to six months later.
Types of Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma
SSL Symptoms
- There are often no symptoms in the early stages of SLL. In fact, SLL can remain asymptomatic (without symptoms) for years. Common symptoms of SLL include: 1. Lymphadenopathy(swollen lymph nodes), typically painless and most commonly felt in the neck, armpits, and groin 2. Easy bruising 3. A swollen, tender abdomen (due to an enlarged spleen, or occ...
Causes
- Around 7% of all Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are classified as CLL/SLL, accounting for roughly 14,000 new diagnoses and 4,000 deaths in the United States each year.7
Diagnosis
- SLL is typically diagnosed with a physical exam, blood tests, genetic tests, and a microscopic examination of biopsied tissues from the bone marrow or lymph nodes.
Staging
- Staging is the process used to categorize the severity of the disease in order to direct appropriate treatment. In the United States, the most commonly used staging system for CLL/SLL is the Rai staging system, developed by Dr. Kanti Rai in 1975. (In Europe, an alternate system called the Binet classification is more commonly used.)14 The Rai classification is broken down as fol…
Treatment
- Given that the majority of people with SLL are asymptomatic and the disease is relatively slow-moving, many healthcare providers will take a "watch-and-wait" approach until certain symptoms arise. This spares you from therapies that can cause harmful side effects and undermine your quality of life. Delaying treatment in asymptomatic people also doesn't inherently alter the cours…
Prognosis
- The prognosis of SLL can vary by the genetic characteristics and speed of progression of the disease. Certain characteristics identified with flow cytometry/FISH (including IGHV gene mutations and the presence of CD38 protein) are associated with poorer outcomes.2 With that being said, SLL is generally a slowly progressive disease, and many people can live well an…
A Word from Verywell
- It can be extremely unnerving to be told you have SLL. Even if people tell you that SLL is a "slow-moving disease," the uncertainty of what lies ahead can cause extreme anxiety. This is perfectly normal. As much as you may want to rush to treatment, take time to learn about the disease and what the lab reports mean. Doing so can reduce stress by allowing you to understand when treat…