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Emergency Symptoms of Advanced Hodgkin's Disease Include: |
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Sudden high fever
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Loss of strength
Numbness in the arms and legs
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Self-Care
If you've been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, keep in mind the following points regarding pain, nutrition and susceptibility to infections.
About pain:
- No pain should go ignored. Talk to someone about it.
- Tell your doctor about pain soon, before it gets worse.
- Tell your doctor if the pain medication is helping or not.
Nutrition:
- Maintaining a balanced diet with sufficient calories can be difficult because of the cancer or the chemotherapy.
- High-fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain products, while generally recommended, may aggravate diarrhea, bloating and other digestive symptoms during chemotherapy treatment.
- Nutrition recommendations for cancer patients generally focus on high calorie and high protein drinks as well as solid food as tolerated to regain any lost weight and strength, and to support the immune system.
- Professional, individualized counseling from a licensed nutritionist is important in planning and maintaining a diet during cancer treatment.
About protection from infection:
- Ask your doctor whether your chemotherapy will put you at risk for infection.
- If you are in the hospital receiving chemotherapy, the staff may need to wear masks and gowns to protect you from infection while your white blood cell counts are low.
- Remember to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
More on Hodgkin's Disease Finding Support
Controlling Cancer Pain
Diet and Nutrition
Nutrition Tips for Cancer Patients
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Pain Medicine
In the Encyclopedia:
Hodgkin's disease
Mediastinoscopy
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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