Hodgkin’s disease, or Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s germ-fighting immune system. Hodgkin’s lymphoma causes the lymphocytes (or white blood cells) to develop a genetic mutation. Once the cell mutates, it rapidly divides, outnumbering the healthy cells in the lymphatic system and detrimentally impacts the body’s ability to fight off infection and disease. Read on for the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options for Hodgkin’s lymphoma:
1. Symptoms of Hodgkin’s lymphoma
This condition causes swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, chest, or groin. Some additional symptoms include fever, night sweats, severe itching, unintended weight loss, extreme fatigue, and pain in the lymph nodes after having alcohol. Some patients might also experience chest pain, trouble breathing, and persistent cough.
2. Diagnosing Hodgkin’s disease
The key for a positive prognosis is receiving an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, the doctor might order multiple diagnostic tests so that effective treatment options can be adopted. The diagnosis will usually start with a physical exam, during which the doctor will check for any swollen lymph nodes in the neck, underarms, and groin. They will also look for any signs of swollen liver or spleen. If the doctor suspects any issue, they will then recommend certain blood exams and imaging tests, including a CT scan, an X-ray, and a positron emission tomography. A biopsy of the lymph node and bone marrow can also be done to get more conclusive results about the stage and aggressiveness of the lymphoma.
3. Treating Hodgkin’s disease
Determining a treatment plan for Hodgkin’s disease depends on multiple factors, including: the severity of the condition, the cancer’s stage, the patient’s overall health, and the patient’s personal preferences. The goal of every treatment plan is to kill all the cancerous cells and bring the disorder into a state of remission. The following are some commonly implemented treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma:
- Chemotherapy: Used to destroy cancer cells, chemotherapy medications travel through the bloodstream, reaching all the areas in the body. This treatment is often utilized with radiation therapy in early stages of Hodgkin’s disease. In advanced stages, it might be used without radiation therapy. It can be administered in the form of a pill or intravenously. Some common side-effects of this treatment are hair loss and severe nausea.
- Radiation therapy: In radiation therapy, high-energy beams, including X-rays and protons, are used to get rid of cancerous cells. The process lasts for 30 minutes, wherein energy beams are aimed at the affected lymph nodes. Patients with early-stage nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin’s disease might only need radiation therapy. In other cases, this treatment is used alongside chemotherapy. Hair loss at the site of treatment and skin tenderness are some side-effects of radiation therapy.
- Bone marrow transplant: If Hodgkin’s lymphoma relapses, even after getting the necessary treatment, then doctors may suggest a bone marrow transplant. In this treatment, the diseased bone marrow will be replaced with healthy stem cells. These can help new bone marrow to grow. Before implementing this treatment, the patient will have to undergo a few rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to destroy any cancer cells in the body.
- Immunotherapy and targeted therapies: In some cases, where the patient is unresponsive to the above treatments, other treatments, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy, might be employed. Immunotherapy stimulates the patient’s immune system to attack and kill cancer cells, whereas targeted therapies focus on triggering specific vulnerabilities of the cancer cells so that they eventually die off.
