hodgkin's disease

Hodgkin's disease

Cancer cells tend to reproduce and grow rapidly. Therefore, even if the cancer appears to be present only in a tumor or a swollen gland, it almost always spreads. To kill all the lymphoma cells present in the organism, a plan of systemic chemotherapy treatment is the preferred method.

The recommended treatment for your Hodgkin lymphoma depends mainly on the specific stage. Early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (stages IA and IIA) is generally treated by combining chemotherapy and radiation from the field in question. The people to whom this type of treatment is prescribed usually start with a brief chemotherapy followed by a radiation cure from the field reached. This type of radiation treats only the hypertrophied lymph nodes and limits the damage caused to the tissues not affected by the immediate region. Some patients with early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma may also experience effective chemotherapy-only treatment (depending on the response observed after initial therapy).

People with early stage disease (stages III and IV) are generally treated with combined chemotherapy (chemotherapy with a number of different medications). See the following sections for more information on chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Other factors will also be taken into consideration when choosing the appropriate treatment. These include your age, general health, the presence or not of type B symptoms (explained above), the size of your tumor and the part of the organism affected. The research results collected from hundreds of people in the world who have suffered from Hodgkin lymphoma direct the doctor on choosing the appropriate treatment for you. However, remember that all people are unique. In order to help you choose the best treatment, your doctor takes into account all the information provided, including the details of your particular case.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be used as a treatment aimed at preventing the spread or slow growth of cancer cells, killing cancer cells that would have spread to other parts of the organism, or even Relieve the symptoms. It is the use of potent anti-cancer drugs circulating in the bloodstream. Chemotherapy can be administered orally or intravenously and used when cancer is present in various parts of the body. Sometimes a combination of medications is prescribed to improve the chances of successful treatment. The names of the different combinations are commonly created from the first letters of each of the medications used. Widespread chemotherapy used to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma is ABVD (Adriamycin, bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine).

Each drug targets cancer in a different way; This is why, for the destruction of lymphoma, a combination of chemotherapeutic drugs is more effective than a single drug.

Chemotherapy is often administered in several cycles (or cures) with a rest period of a few weeks between each cycle. These breaks allow the body to recover from the side effects of chemotherapy.

A typical chemotherapeutic diet against Hodgkin's lymphoma may include six cycles of a combination of drugs administered over a six-month period. The actual number of chemotherapy cycles received depends on the type and stage of your Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as your age and general health.

Radiation

Radiation is used in localized areas to destroy cancer cells to prevent them from propagating. X-ray therapy is frequently used in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. It usually applies to lymphoma through a high-energy external X-ray beam or by radioactive isotopes. Only certain types of lymphoma respond to X-ray-based treatment. It is your doctor's responsibility to determine if the radiation is appropriate in your case.

The external radiation-based treatment is pain-free (similar to an X-ray test) and lasts for a few minutes. Generally, a complete treatment lasts five days a week over a period of four to five weeks for an external patient, and varies depending on the type of cancer, the size of the tumor and the part of the organism that is affected.

Stem cell transplant

Stem cell transplantation (also known as peripheral blood stem cell transplantation or bone marrow autologous) can be used in patients suffering from relapsing Hodgkin's lymphoma. In this type of treatment, some of the cells in your own bone marrow are extracted before chemotherapy and are subsequently regrafted. Stem cells are a group of cells present in the bone marrow that are immature, develop and transform into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Remember that you are a partner in the treatment of your illness and it is therefore important to understand your treatment plan – for the one you will receive shortly and for possible further treatment, if necessary. In some cases, the first treatment can affect the next treatment that you can receive.