The Treatment

Radiotherapy, immunotherapy, radio-immunotherapy and chemotherapy are some of the most common treatments for lymphoma. Your doctor will plan your treatment by taking into consideration the type and size of the tumour, whether the cancer has spread, your age and general health.

• Chemotherapy is a common treatment for lymphoma. Patients can receive an oral or intravenous injection of anti-cancer drugs.
• Immunotherapy has become an important treatment for lymphoma. It uses cells or antibodies of the immunity system to treat cancer.
• Bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in lymphoma is the use of high dose chemotherapy and /or radiotherapy followed by re-infusion of bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells from the patients themselves or donated by their close relatives. The risk of this treatment is relatively high and it is usually applied to selected patients who experience recurring cancer.

In recent years a lot of progress has been made with the treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and an increasing number of people can now be successfully treated, even when the disease has spread from the original site.

Low-grade lymphomas grow very slowly and sometimes do not need treatment for a long time, if at all, and regular check-ups are all that is needed. When they do require treatment it is most often with mild chemotherapy tablets which can be taken at home.

High-grade lymphomas are faster growing and need treatment with intensive chemotherapy.

If you want to know more about common cancer treatments, please visit here for more information.

Cancer treatments can cause a range of side effects. For more information on common side effects and tips on how to manage cope, please click here.