Chemotherapy

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is most often treated with anti-cancer drugs, called chemotherapy. These medicines are usually given intravenously (by IV), though some forms may be taken by mouth. They are distributed throughout the body through the bloodstream. Chemotherapy can help kill cancer cells that are in the lymph system as well as those that may have spread to other areas.

Most types of chemotherapy are given in cycles, which means you receive an infusion of your chemotherapy drugs by IV on one day, and then you wait several days to a few weeks before receiving your next dose. This gives the drugs time to have an effect and also gives your body some time to recover before getting more.

The schedule depends mainly on the drugs you need and the stage of your cancer. A common schedule is to get chemotherapy every three to four weeks.

Our patients receive their chemotherapy infusions at the SCCA Clinic.

For non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a common chemotherapy regimen is called CHOP. This regimen includes the drugs cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine (Oncovin) and prednisone. Many of our patients receive this combination. We use several other combinations, too.

Your doctor will recommend the combination most likely to work for your cancer.

Our researchers are studying new combinations of chemotherapy drugs in order to find the most effective combinations for different types of the disease. Many of our patients receive these combinations by taking part in clinical studies.