6. Naturopathy
Naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine that emphasizes the use of natural remedies, such as herbs, vitamins, and minerals, to promote healing and prevent disease.
Naturopathic practitioners may recommend dietary changes, supplements, and other natural remedies to improve the patient’s overall health. They may work together with the patient’s medical team, to develop a holistic approach that can help with the side effects of conventional treatment such as nausea, fatigue, anxiety, and pain.
5. Watchful Waiting
A “watchful waiting” approach may be an option for some individuals with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma who have slow-growing forms of the disease. This approach involves closely monitoring the patient’s condition without immediately starting treatment.
This approach is typically used for older adults or individuals with other health conditions that may make treatment riskier. It is also usually applied to indolent subtypes of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, such as follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma.
4. Steroid Medicine
Steroid medications, such as dexamethasone and prednisone, are often used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to reduce inflammation and swelling caused by cancer. Research has shown that steroid medications improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Steroids work by mimicking the effects of hormones that are naturally produced by the body’s adrenal glands. They have anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to reduce swelling and inflammation in the body.
3. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy works by killing rapidly dividing cells, which is how cancer cells grow and multiply. Chemotherapy drugs are designed to target and kill cancerous cells while minimizing harm to healthy cells.
The goal of chemotherapy is to shrink the tumor, put the disease into remission, and improve the quality of life. It can be given as a single agent or in combination with other treatments such as radiation therapy or immunotherapy.
2. Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy works by damaging the DNA in cancer cells, which prevents them from dividing and growing. The radiation is delivered to the tumor by a machine called a linear accelerator, which directs beams of radiation to the specific area of the body where the cancer is located.
Radiotherapy can be administered externally, which is when the beams of radiation are directed from a machine outside of the body, or internally, which is when a small radioactive source is placed inside the body close to the tumor.
1. Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy is a treatment that uses special proteins (called antibodies) to fight non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These antibodies, which are artificially created, are designed to target certain parts of the cancer cells.
The most common types of monoclonal antibody therapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are Rituximab and Obinutuzumab, which target a protein called CD20 found on most B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Once the antibodies bind to the protein, it prompts the immune system to attack and kill the cancer cells.
These are non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma symptoms and treatments worth knowing about.