I was diagnosed with a very bad stage 4 Follicular, at age 62 in 2008 and had 7 cycles of chemo. . I relapsed 14 yrs later in 2022, with Follicular, but also had Marginal zone and smoldering Myeloma, and had 6 cycles of Rituxan and bendamustine. I will be 79 in a few weeks and feel great. Every yr there are better treatments, and some people also do watch and wait and might not need treatment for years. My 14 yrs free of symptoms was great, but the next period is expected to be -or might be- half of that-- 7 yrs, and that takes me to age 83. By that time-- who knows what the treatments are! My mom had just died at age 92 a couple wks before I was diagnosed at age 62. I thought it might be hard to get to age 90. I will be 80 in 13 months! Keep the faith!

I love this! Thank you for sharing! Mary

I was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in 2021 and had RCHOP treatment in 2022. I am 68. This disease, while unpredictable and incurable, can be managed well. My doctors tell me I won't die of this, but I will die with it. Keeping all your followup appointments is important. I have found that the lymphoma itself will not shorten my life, it opens me to other things because of the compromised immune system. For example, the doctors are always looking for other cancers. But that's good because you can be treated early if anything comes up. So basically I think if I eat healthy and stay active this shouldn't shorten my lifespan much. Worrying about it will shorten it more.