Table of Contents
How do you cope with lymphoma diagnosis?
Treatment
- Active surveillance. Some forms of lymphoma are very slow growing.
- Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy fast-growing cells, such as cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy.
- Bone marrow transplant.
- Other treatments.
What causes chemo belly?
Chemotherapy and radiation can prevent the small intestine from producing enough of the body’s required enzyme lactase, which can lead to bloating, gassiness, cramping or diarrhea when foods with lactose are eaten.
What are the side effects of chemo for lymphoma?
Some chemo drugs can raise your risk of developing leukemia several years later. Tumor lysis syndrome is a possible side effect when chemo is started, especially in patients with large or fast-growing lymphomas. Killing the lymphoma cells releases their contents into the bloodstream.
What is combination chemotherapy for lymphoma?
Many patients who are treated for lymphoma are given combination chemotherapy, which means two or more drugs, instead of single-agent therapy. These chemotherapy drugs are given in a specific order (schedule) during certain days of each treatment cycle—this is called a treatment regimen.
What are the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy?
There is a chance that your treatment can increase the risk of getting another type of cancer in the future. This is because both chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy work by damaging cells. They kill the lymphoma cells, but they can damage healthy cells too.
What are the advantages of chemotherapy for lymphoma?
An advantage of chemotherapy is that it can also travel throughout the bloodstream to kill the cancer cells wherever they may be located. Many patients who are treated for lymphoma are given combination chemotherapy, which means two or more drugs, instead of single-agent therapy.