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Hodgkin's Lymphoma Treatments

Treatment

Hodgkin's lymphoma is generally considered one of the more curable forms of cancer. The two primary ways of treating this cancer are:

Chemotherapy and External Radiation Therapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be given in many forms including: pill, injection, and via a catheter. The drugs enter the bloodstream and travel through the body killing mostly cancer cells, but also some healthy cells.

In radiation therapy , radiation is directed at the tumor from a source outside the body to kill the cancer cells.

In many cases, both chemotherapy and radiation are used to cure a patient of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The choice of treatments will be based on:

  • Extent of disease (the stage)
  • Location of the affected lymph node(s)
  • Many other patient-related features that your doctor will discuss with you

It is very important that you be seen by both the medical oncologist to discuss chemotherapy and the radiation oncologist to discuss the radiation therapy. It is not wise to see only one of these specialists, since the best treatment results come from a discussion and integrated approach.

If the cancer does not respond to chemotherapy or radiation, the outcome is usually very poor. There are some treatment options available, including:

  • Bone marrow transplantation —Bone marrow is removed, treated, and frozen. Large doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy are then applied to kill the cancer cells. After treatment, the bone marrow is replaced via a vein. Transplanted bone marrow may be the patient's bone marrow that was treated to remove cancer cells or marrow from a healthy donor.
  • Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation —Stem cells (very immature cells that produce blood cells) are removed from circulating blood before chemotherapy or radiation treatment, and then replaced after treatment.

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Copyright © 2024 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.

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