Various treatments to counteract lymphoma

• April 23, 2024

Knowing that you have cancer of lymph cells, which is actually lymphoma, is more than enough to give you and your family a fright. The treatment of lymphoma is not easy, both physically and mentally for the patient. It requires the full support of the family to fight against it.

Lymphoma develops when lymph cells begin to multiply rapidly beyond normal. These cells are found in the blood and lymph nodes, therefore, when they increase it is very natural that the lymph nodes enlarge and manifest as lumps in the neck, armpits or groin.

There are two main types of lymphoma. The most common is Hodgkin's lymphoma. This type is distinguished from the rest by the presence of the cell Reed-Sternberg . The spread of cancer cells in Hodgkin's lymphoma is more predictable and often very limited, unlike non-Hodgkin lymphomas. In Hodgkin's lymphoma, cancer cells first develop into other organs before spreading to the lymph nodes. The types of non-Hodgkin lymphomas are classified as low-grade, intermediate-grade or high-grade lymphomas, basically based on the rapidity of the spread of cancer cells.

Various types of lymphoma and its treatments

Once the type of lymphoma has been diagnosed and identified, the next step is to determine what stage it is in. The type and extent of cancer treatment depends on the age of the patient and the level or stage of the lymphoma.

The methods of treatment are chemotherapy, radiotherapy, antibody therapy (or biological therapy) and bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.

Chemotherapy uses different drugs to kill the tumor or cancer cells, which can be taken orally or by injection.

Radiation therapy, on the other hand, uses rays to kill tumor cells. These rays, in addition to killing cancer cells, also harm healthy ones. Therefore, those who undergo radiotherapy receive small doses of radiation to reduce this damage.

Another treatment is antibody therapy, which uses antibodies to destroy the molecules of a cancer cell. And finally, the last way to treat lymphoma is by bone marrow or stem cell transplant, which is restored by surgery. Stem cells that were destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy.

Video Medicine: Austin's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Treatment (April 2024).