RT to suspected Hodgkin variant after CLL - repeated failed biopsies, months of delay, anyone experienced this?
Has anyone here experienced something similar with suspected Richter transformation? My father is 66 (almost 67) with known CLL, and this diagnostic nightmare has been going on since January 27th with still no final diagnosis or treatment started. There is strong suspicion of Richter transformation / aggressive lymphoma (possibly Hodgkin variant), but we are completely stuck. He has already had multiple unsuccessful biopsy attempts — one abdominal biopsy failed, another was non-diagnostic, and another planned biopsy could not be done. The only remaining option now seems to be a thoracic surgical biopsy to reach mediastinal lymph nodes. Meanwhile, he has recurrent fevers over 38°C, sometimes lasting for days, then disappearing briefly, only to return again, with very high CRP. He is now severely exhausted, mostly bedridden, visibly getting weaker, and doctors keep saying they need tissue before treatment, but everything keeps getting delayed, postponed, or redirected. We are approaching almost 6 months of this, and he still has no treatment while continuing to decline. Has anyone with Richter transformation (or Hodgkin variant transformation) experienced repeated failed biopsies and such a prolonged delay before diagnosis/treatment? Did anyone’s loved one become this weak before treatment and still improve once treatment finally started? Right now it feels like we are stuck in a nightmare while time keeps passing.