Treatment For Lymphoma
When a family member is diagnosed with Lymphoma a difficult time begins for everyone within the family as most people do not bother to know more about the disease till it hits them closer to home! However, despair is not an answer and one must learn that there are a number of treatment options that are available and that not all cancers end in death of your loved one.
The prognosis will help you understand the kind of Lymphoma and give you a clue as to the kind of treatment required to be given. It is important to remember that the patient or the family is not alone in this fight against the disease. A number of support systems have been set up to assist them through this traumatic phase of life.
We have attempted to briefly describe below, the different types of treatments that are available to the patient.
Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy
The use of drugs to neutralise the cancer cells is called chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is usually a combination of drugs which is different for every patient. Radiation therapies kill the cancer cells by the use of high energy rays such as X-Rays. These shrink the cancerous tumours. If the tumour was benign surgery alone would be sufficient.
Chemotherapy is often called systemic treatment. This is because the drugs travel though the body and kill those potential cancerous cells that have not yet started dividing rapidly. Patients receive a combination of treatments which include radiation, chemotherapy and surgery.
High-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) is a method in which high amounts of the drugs are introduced to kills the cancer cells. These doses are lethal to the cells in the bone marrow. During treatment patients are given regular bone marrow transplant for normal production of red blood cells and white blood cells. This transplant may be from the patient themselves or from another person.
Biological response modifier therapy (BRMT) is one of the latest techniques used in curing cancer. The technique involves the chemicals of the body to activate the body’s own defences against the cancer cells.
These therapies are still experimental and research is being actively carried out in these areas. The new approaches include:
Immunotherapy involves the activation of chemicals called cytokines, which help the B-cells produce antibodies to fight against the cancer cells. Research is being done with two important chemicals called interleukin and interferon. A new therapy developed by the scientist is to bind the antibodies which fight these cancer cells with a drug which will kill the cancer cells. This type of targeting will be very beneficial as only the tumours will be affected and not the healthy tissues.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved of one such drug called Rituxan. Another similar drug Bexxar is waiting for approval. A new novel approach done by the scientist is to develop a tumour vaccine. The vaccine activates the body’s own defences even before the cancer is developed.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Angiogenesis inhibitors are drugs that prevent new blood vessels from forming in the site of the cancer. Tumours need new blood vessels for their supply of nutrition and oxygen. Cutting off their supply to these essentials will prevent the cancer cells from growing.
This is the newest approach to cancer. Pieces of DNA are sent into the cells to correct mutations in these cells. Most cancers are known to arise from damage to the DNA and this therapy will help a great deal.
Research and experience has revealed that not all cancers are terminal and not all patients die when they are diagnosed with Lymphoma. It is important to understand the type of Lymphoma, the stage of the disease and the treatment required and one must aggressively undertake the same. More and more patients are regaining their health and live long quality lives after the diagnosis and treatment of the disease!
