If you’re undergoing large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) treatment, you know it can come with a lot of challenges: fatigue, nausea, hair loss, bowel issues, sleep problems, pain — and, of course, the emotional toll of coping with it all.
It’s a lot to contend with — but you don’t have to just grin and bear the treatment process alone. Supportive care offers interventions that can help you improve your quality of life while fighting LBCL. But what exactly does that mean, and how can you use it to help you feel better? Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Supportive Care for Large B-Cell Lymphoma?
Also known as palliative care, supportive care is medical care that alleviates symptoms and side effects of cancer and cancer treatment. As your oncologist works toward eliminating cancer from your body via treatments, supportive care professionals can fill in the gaps to help you feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally during this process.
“The common myth is that palliative care means no treatments, only pain medications, and that means you’re giving up on living. In reality, that description more closely fits hospice care, which focuses on comfort and end-of-life support," says Manali Kamdar, MD, an oncologist at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado. “While hospice can be part of supportive care, palliative care is different from hospice. This branch of medicine provides support through a multitude of things, including treatment that allows patients to get to a very high remission or eventually be cured.”
How Supportive Care for Large B-Cell Lymphoma Can Help You
Here’s a look at the many ways your supportive care team can help you feel better — physically, mentally, and emotionally — throughout your treatment process.
Treatment Side Effects
Supportive care is especially helpful for managing treatment side effects. If your treatment is making you susceptible to infections, for example, palliative care may include antivirals or antibiotics, or if you’re dealing with pain, you may be prescribed pain medication.
Extreme fatigue may prompt your palliative care team to suggest iron pills or nutritional supplements, or prescribe antidepressants. They can also offer support for hypothyroidism, inflammation of the lungs, or other health conditions related to your lymphoma treatment.
Nutritional Counseling
“It's important to maintain your calories and protein intake, especially during treatment, to avoid weight loss and frailty,” says Dr. Kamdar. Your supportive care team can connect you with an oncology-registered dietitian to create a meal plan that keeps you nourished while addressing any gastrointestinal side effects or changes in taste you may be experiencing.
Fertility Preservation
Lymphoma treatment, specifically chemotherapy and radiation, can negatively impact fertility. If you’re concerned about how treatment will impact your ability to conceive, your supportive care team can help you navigate options like egg and embryo freezing or sperm and testicular tissue freezing.
Treatment Planning
Deciding how to manage your LBCL treatment can be incredibly stressful, and doubly so in situations where your cancer requires urgent treatment. Your palliative care team can help you better understand your options and chart a treatment course in conjunction with your doctors and loved ones.
Mental Health Counseling
It’s common for people diagnosed with B-cell lymphomas to experience elevated levels of distress, anxiety, and depression that impact their quality of life. Your care team can connect you with mental health resources, like individual or group therapy, to help you develop new coping skills and feel more supported during this challenging time.
Self-Esteem and Body Image
Cancer treatments can result in hair loss and weight changes, which can impact your body image and self-esteem. Palliative care can help you find ways to feel better about these changes and obtain prostheses like wigs.
Social Support
You’ll likely feel less alone and more hopeful if you connect with others who are going through a similar experience. Your palliative care team can help you find cancer support groups or large B-cell lymphoma-specific groups, as well as those tailored to your specific age group or gender. They can help your loved ones find support resources, too.
Consider Supportive Care as Part of Your Overall Treatment Plan
While your oncology team will be working hard to get your large B-cell cancer into remission or eliminate it entirely, they aren’t the only ones who can help you during this difficult time. A supportive care team will help you better deal with the symptoms of your cancer as well as the various side effects of your treatments, and can even help you deal with the mental and emotional toll of this process. Ask your provider how you can get started with palliative care.
The Takeaway
Supportive care is used to mitigate side effects of your large B-cell lymphoma treatment, and help you feel as good as possible during this time.
While it is also known as palliative care, it is not solely intended for end-of-life care and can be used by anyone diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment.
Supportive care can help with improving your energy levels, offering nutritional support, managing your pain, assisting with mental health concerns, and boosting your self-esteem and overall quality of life.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Dr. Tan's research has been published in multiple medical and scientific journals, including Oncologists, Cancer Cell, and Genes and Development.
A graduate of the Beijing Medical University, Tan holds an M.D. from Peking University Health Science Center and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Her training includes fellowships at the University of California San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and the Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University.
Priscilla Blossom is an independent journalist, essayist, and writer who wears many other hats. She specializes in the intersections of health and wellness; family and relationships; travel, arts, and culture; and lifestyle and identity. Her health writing has appeared in outlets like The New York Times, Washington Post, Yahoo Life, Glamour, Parents, HealthCentral, Oprah Daily, Romper, LGBTQ Nation, and many others. She is a mental health advocate, particularly for queer and Latine folks and those living with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and grief.
