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Hodgkin Lymphoma is overall a much easier disease to treat than Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The main

forms of treatment for both types of Lymphoma include chemotherapy and radiotherapy, however, those of

Hodgkin Lymphoma are often less harsh on the body and are more effective in treating the disease. In fact,

Hodgkin Lymphoma is considered to be one of the most treatable cancers there are. The five year survival rate

is about 90% while that of Non- Hodgkin Lymphoma varies based on the variety the patient has but is almost

always lower than 90%. There are several treatment forms available and the doctor will make the choice based

on variables such as the type of disease, the aggressiveness, location, age of the patient, and their overall

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general health. Due to the fact that there is such a wide variance in types and therefore treatments of Non-

Hodgkin Lymphoma, mainly the treatments of Hodgkin Lymphoma will be addressed.

TREATMENTS AVAILABLE FOR HODGKIN LYMPHOMA

The treatment path for Hodgkin Lymphoma typically begins with chemotherapy drugs and is

sometimes followed by radiotherapy to better ensure the patient will reach a complete stage of remission. If

the cancer is diagnosed in an earlier, less aggressive stage of development, which occurs in about 55% of

cases, they are more likely to be placed on a less aggressive form of chemotherapy. The most common of such

chemotherapies for early stages is abbreviated to ABVD. ABVD is a cocktail of anticancer drugs which

includes doxorubicin, commonly known by its brand name of Adriamycin®, bleomycin, vinblastine and

dacarbazine. It is common for patients to begin with doses only once every two weeks by way of an injection

into the vein or through a drip system. Doctors often allow for this two week break between treatments to

allow the patient to recover from the harsh treatment. These patients will typically receive eight treatments of

ABVD. In other words, they will go through four cycles of treatment, as a cycle is equivalent to a four week

period of treatment. After these four cycles, many patients will receive radiotherapy for two to four weeks,

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many on a daily basis.
A slightly different approach is taken for patients who were not diagnosed until their cancer had

become more advanced. One of the most common approaches is six cycles of ABVD instead of four in

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