In the end, GvHD is not somethingyou or your healthcare provider “caused.”
With that said, there are people who will experience severe manifestations in which symptoms do not resolve.
It is this uncertaintywhether something will happen or notthat can create extreme anxiety.
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or “Will my GvHD come back?").
Medications are also available to treat depression or anxiety that can occur with any life-changing medical condition.
Even though GvHD can resolve after treatment, there are no curative approaches to GvHD per se.
The treatment is primarily focused on tempering the abnormalimmune responsewhile mitigating the symptoms of GvHD wherever they occur.
Medications or medical procedures are not the only tools used in the treatment of GvHD.
Functional capacity is not a fixed value but one that can improve with routine physical activity and exercise.
Diet is especially important following an allogeneic transplant.
Social
Dealing with GvHD is difficult enough without having to go it alone.
It is also important to discuss intimacy issues that couples with GvHD sometimes face.
You should allow them to share their feelings and ask anything they need to ask.
It also helps to seek support groups, either online and in-person.
These include:
Intimate Relationships
Chronic GvHD can affect your sex life directly and indirectly.
Vaginal stenosis will often improve with the daily system of emollients to the vulva.
Arguably, the bigger concern is the loss of libido commonly experienced by people of any sex with GvHD.
Keeping things mum only adds to the stress.
This may help you budget annual costs with less stress.
An advisor can help you decide if this is the right option for you.
If your immune system is suppressed, infections can worsen rapidly and, in some cases, become life-threatening.
Murray J, Stringer J, Hutt D.Chapter 11: Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).
2019;13:987. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2019.987
National Health Service (UK).Guidelines for diagnosis and management of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease.
