Hi Treatment of diffused large B cell lymphoma involves Because DLBCL grows fast, it s usually in more than one place in your body when doctors find it, so you ll want to start treatment right away. Whether your disease is found early or later, the treatment is usually the same. You ll get a drug called rituximab (Rituxan) and chemotherapy. The goal is to destroy the cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone. The most common treatment is called R-CHOP. The R stands for rituximab. CHOP stands for these four chemotherapy drugs: cyclophosphamide hydroxydaunomycin (Doxorubicin) vincristine (O ncovin) prednisone You get this treatment by IV and as a pill. You may also need radiation. This treatment uses X-rays to destroy your cancer cells. It s done over several weeks. Some people get a fifth chemotherapy drug, called etoposide (Vepesid). Doctors call this combination R-EPOCH. For many people, DLBCL does not return after treatment. The chance of it coming back is linked to your age, general health, the stage of your illness, and where it is on your body. If it does return, your doctor may suggest a treatment that combines high-dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant. 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 stem cell transplant are different. These are cells that can come from your blood or bone marrow or from umbilical cord blood and help make new blood cells. For DLBCL, you will get a type of procedure called autologous stem cell transplant. That means the stem cells that are transplanted are taken from your own body, rather than from a donor. First, your doctor will give you a drug called a growth factor that causes your stem cells to move from your bone marrow to your bloodstream. Your doctor collects the stem cells from your blood. Sometimes the stem cells are frozen so they can be used later. After the collection of your stem cells from your blood, you will get treated with high doses of chemotherapy or radiation that could last for several days. This can be a tough process because you may get side effects such as mouth and throat sores or nausea and vomiting. You can take medication that eases some of these side effects. Regards DR DE