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What You Need to Know about  Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Methods of Treatment

Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the most common treatments for Hodgkin's disease, although bone marrow transplantation, peripheral stem cell transplantation, and biological therapies are being studied in clinical trials.

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment with radiation may be given alone or with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is local therapy; it affects cancer cells only in the treated area. Radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease usually involves external radiation, which comes from a machine that aims the rays at a specific area of the body. External radiation does not cause the body to become radioactive. Most often, treatment is given on an outpatient basis in a hospital or clinic.

 

These are some questions a patient may want to ask the doctor before having radiation therapy: What is the goal of this treatment? What are its risks and possible side effects? What side effects should I report to you? How will the radiation be given? When will the treatments begin? When will they end? How will I feel during therapy? What can I do to take care of myself during therapy? How will we know if the radiation therapy is working? How will treatment affect my normal activities?

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease usually consists of a combination of several drugs. It may be given alone or followed by radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles: a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection into a blood vessel (IV); some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy, meaning that the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body.

Usually, a patient has chemotherapy as an outpatient (at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home). However, depending on which drugs are given and the patient's general health, a short hospital stay may be needed.

 

These are some questions patients may want to ask the doctor before starting chemotherapy: What is the goal of this treatment? What drugs will I be taking? Will the drugs cause side effects? What can I do about them? What side effects should I report to you? How long will I need to take this treatment? What can I do to take care of myself during treatment? How will we know if the drugs are working?

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