Health Treatment for non- Hodgkin lymphoma


by GROSHAN FABIOLA - Date: 2007-05-12 - Word Count: 415 Share This!

There are two main categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma and non- Hodgkin lymphoma. There are treatments for all these types.

Treatment for non- Hodgkin lymphoma can differ from a patient to another, but there are several main treatment types: - one of the lymphoma treatment is radiation therapy, that uses x- rays in high doses or some other form of energy rays that can kill cancerous cells and shrink tumors; - the other main lymphoma treatment is chemotherapy, that uses drugs to fight against cancer cells; - immunotherapy is another way to treatment lymphoma; this type of non- Hodgkin lymphoma treatment uses your own immune system to battle against cancer; - transplants can also be an alternative, but this is mostly used if other lymphoma treatment methods fail; when you suffer from non- Hodgkin lymphoma, you can have a bone marrow transplant or choose the peripheral blood transplant; - in some less severe cases of lymphoma, watch and wait is actually the first "treatment " that doctors choose for their patients; - last but not least, there is another type of treatment for lymphoma called clinical trial;

1. Radiation therapy- for non- Hodgkin lymphoma, radiation normally comes from an external beam, that is to say that in most non- Hodgkin lymphoma cases an outside machine is used for radiation therapy. This type of lymphoma treatment can be used by itself or with chemotherapy. This is usually decide by your doctor, depending on your state.

2. Chemotherapy- this treatment method means that drugs are used to kill the cancerous cells and to shrink tumors. It is a very common method among non- Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

3. Immunotherapy- is one of the most complicated ways of lymphoma treatment. This method tries to make your body fight cancer or any other infections. Material that your body produces or material made in the lab is used to direct, boost or restore the body defense system. This lymphoma treatment is also called biological response.

4. Transplants have to be used with chemotherapy in order to work

5. Watch and wait is another type of lymphoma treatment, that unfortunately can not be used by all the patients. This is mainly used in the cases where the cancer is very slow growing. Because it is quite difficult to treat a low grade lymphoma, doctors have to wait for symptoms to be more obvious.

6. Clinical trials are also an option for lymphoma patients. These are mainly used for those who show no response to other type of treatment.


Related Tags: mantle cell lymphoma, non hodgkins lymphoma

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