This is done in a small operation called a biopsy , which is usually done under a local anaesthetic. The sample is then sent to a specialised laboratory where doctors experienced in diagnosing lymphoma examine it. The lymph node cells are also tested for particular proteins that are found on the surface of lymphoma cells.
The proteins the cells make can help doctors decide what treatment might be best for you. It may take a while to have all the necessary tests done on your biopsy.
The results help your doctor diagnose which type of lymphoma you have and then decide on the treatment it is most likely to respond to. Waiting for your test results can be frustrating and worrying but it is very important for your medical team to work out exactly what type of lymphoma you have and how it is affecting you.
This information helps them plan the best treatment for you. You might find it helpful to discuss any anxieties with your medical team. They can answer any questions you have during this time and may be able to signpost you to sources of support. Once you have been diagnosed, you need other tests to find out which areas of your body are affected by lymphoma.
This is called staging. Some people, particularly children, may have an MRI scan. You also have blood tests to look at your general health, check your blood cell counts , make sure your kidneys and liver are working well and rule out infections that could flare up when you have treatment. Blood tests are also used to check for signs of inflammation, which are sometimes associated with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Rarely, you might have a sample of your bone marrow cells taken a bone marrow biopsy , to check if you have lymphoma cells in your bone marrow. You usually have these tests done as an outpatient. It takes a few weeks to get all the results. Waiting for test results can be a worrying time, but it is important for your doctor to gather all of this information in order to plan the best treatment for you.
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma generally responds very well to treatment. The majority of people are cured, even if their lymphoma is advanced when it is diagnosed. Your lymphoma specialist is the best person to talk to about the likely outcome of your treatment. Watch Andy talk about his diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma and how he kept positive through treatment. Treatment for classical Hodgkin lymphoma usually involves chemotherapy , sometimes followed by radiotherapy.
The exact treatment you need depends on the stage of your disease and on the signs and symptoms you have. When choosing your treatment, your doctor takes into account your age, general health and fitness, your feelings about treatment and factors that may be important to you in the future, such as having a family.
Your doctor also considers any potential side effects , long-term or late effects health problems that develop months or years after treatment of the treatment. This is important because most people live for many years after their lymphoma has gone into remission no evidence of disease. Your medical team should explain the possible side effects and late effects of your planned treatment.
You might have a PET-CT scan after your first few cycles of treatment to check how well you are responding. Your consultant uses the results of the scan to decide how many more cycles of treatment you need, whether you should change to a different chemotherapy regimen and whether radiotherapy might be appropriate for you.
For early stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma, your doctor considers the signs and symptoms you have before deciding what chemotherapy is most likely to be effective for you and how long you should be treated for.
They include:. If there is no evidence of lymphoma on this scan, you might not need the bleomycin component of your chemotherapy for the remaining cycles. A few weeks after your chemotherapy finishes, you usually have radiotherapy to the areas affected by your lymphoma. It is common to have radiotherapy every day except weekends for 2 to 4 weeks. Chemotherapy without radiotherapy is less likely to cause long-term side effects, but you have a slightly higher risk of your lymphoma relapsing coming back.
Your doctor should discuss the treatment choices with you and take your views and wishes into account. Your outcome depends on the stage of the lymphoma at diagnosis. This means where the lymphoma is in your body and whether it has spread. Your stage also depends on whether you had certain symptoms when you were diagnosed, such as weight loss, night sweats, or high temperatures.
Your sex and age also affect outlook. Hodgkin lymphoma survival is higher in women than men. And survival is highest for people diagnosed aged under 40 years old. The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. But some people live much longer than this. Read more about understanding cancer statistics and incidence, mortality and survival statistics.
For more in depth information about survival and other statistics for Hodgkin lymphoma, go to our Cancer Statistics section. The stage shows whether the lymphoma is in one area of your body localised or has spread to other areas.
There are 4 stages for Hodgkin lymphoma. There are different types of Hodgkin lymphoma. Knowing the type helps your doctor to decide what treatment you need. The main treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma include chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy may continue much longer, and especially with stem cell transplants, to a greater degree, than with many other cancers. There is also the issue of long-term side effects of Hodgkin lymphoma, such as secondary cancers, which will require lifelong monitoring.
As a final note, if you or a loved one have gone through treatment for Hodgkin disease, it's important to talk to your healthcare provider about survivorship. Many cancer clinics now have active cancer rehabilitation programs in which the late effects of cancer treatment , ranging from chronic pain to anxiety, are fully addressed. Limiting processed foods and red meats can help ward off cancer risk.
These recipes focus on antioxidant-rich foods to better protect you and your loved ones. Sign up and get your guide! Hodgkin lymphoma. J Clin Invest. American Cancer Society.
Cancer, physical activity, and exercise. Compr Physiol. Sleep disorders in breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer. Breast cancer in young women after treatment for Hodgkin's disease during childhood or adolescence--an observational study with up to year follow-up. Dtsch Arztebl Int. Brenner, H. The Oncologist. National Cancer Institute. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.
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