Hodgkin's Disease
See Also:
Hodgkin's
Disease: Overview
Hodgkin's Disease:
Signs & Symptoms
Hodgkin's Disease
Lymphoma Stages
Hodgkin's Disease
Medical Tests
Hodgkin's
Disease Treatment Options
Treatment Options
When the physician decides the treatment program for a
Hodgkin’s disease patient, certain major factors are
taken in consideration, such as: the stage of the
disease, the number and location of lymph nodes affected,
the age of the patient, the gravity of the symptoms, and
the overall health status. The treatment goal is to
destroy the malignant cells and bring the disease into
the remission stage.
Chemotherapy
One of the most used and effective therapy
options for treating Hodgkin’s lymphoma is
chemotherapy. This involves different combination
of drugs administrated with IV’s and/or
orally in order to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy
has certain side effects that can cause a high
level of discomfort, such as hair loss (in some
cases from the whole body), nausea and vomit, and
general weakness. It is often said about
chemotherapy: the more effective the treatment,
the more intense the side effects are.
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Radiotherapy
Another therapy option for Hodgkin’s lymphoma
treatment is radiotherapy, where the tumor area is
bombarded with radiation in order to disolve it. This
treatment option is used if the cancer is limited to a
certain area and may be followed with chemotherapy for a
better result or may be used independently. If the cancer
relapses after radiotherapy, chemotherapy becomes
necessary.
Bone Marrow Transplant
Another treatment option used if chemotherapy and
radiotherapy are ineffective is a bone marrow transplant.
This procedure involves the transplantation of the
patient's own bone marrow or peripheral stem cells.
Peripheral stem cells are bone marrow cells accumulated
in the bloodstream. Because the chemotherapy destroys
these cells, in order for this transplant to be performed
peripheral stem cells need to be collected before the
treatment and frozen. They will be injected back into the
body after the patient is finished with the chemotherapy
treatment.
See Also:
Hodgkin's
Disease: Overview
Hodgkin's Disease:
Signs & Symptoms
Hodgkin's Disease
Lymphoma Stages
Hodgkin's Disease
Medical Tests
Hodgkin's
Disease Treatment Options
Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com
Sources
http://www.cancer.org
http://www.cancer.gov
http://www.mayoclinic.com
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