Treating Hodgkin lymphoma

The treatment you have will depend on:

• the type and stage of the lymphoma
• what symptoms you have
• the results of your blood tests.
• which parts of your body are affected
• your general health
• your preferences.

We understand that having treatment can be a difficult time for people. We're here to support you. If you want to talk, you can: 

• Call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00. 
• Chat to our specialists online.
• Visit our Hodgkin lymphoma forum to talk with people who have been affected by Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), share your experience, and ask an expert your questions.

If you have nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), your doctor may suggest you delay having treatment. Instead, you have regular appointments and tests to monitor the lymphoma. This is called watch and wait.

If you start treatment, you may have radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Some people have both.  Other people will have a targeted therapy.

Rarely, NLPHL can change into a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. If this happens, you will have treatments for non-Hodgkin lymphoma instead.

Hodgkin lymphoma can sometimes come back after treatment. This is called a relapse or a recurrence. You will usually have more treatment. Treatment can still work well. This will depend on which treatments you have already had and how quickly the lymphoma has come back. It may also depend on:

• the type of Hodgkin lymphoma
• how well you coped with treatment before
• your general health.

If the lymphoma is not causing any symptoms you may not need to start treatment straight away (watch and wait). You may have further chemotherapy using different and stronger drugs than you had before. Radiotherapy may be used to improve symptoms. Targeted and immunotherapy drugs are often used if the lymphoma comes back. Some people may have a stem cell transplant.