Recovery & Support for Hodgkin Lymphoma

At the Perlmutter Cancer Center, hematologist–oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, and wellness experts—who specialize in integrative therapies, such as acupuncture—provide you with support during treatment and recovery.

Psychological and Social Support

NYU Langone specialists offer support groups and one-on-one counseling sessions with a psycho-oncologist, a healthcare provider who addresses the psychological needs of people with cancer. These experts are available to help you manage issues such as depression, which can occur during and after cancer treatment. Social workers are also available to help you address any financial issues that may arise during treatment.

Fertility Management

Treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma can cause infertility in men and women. Specialists at NYU Langone’s Fertility Center and NYU Langone Reproductive Specialists of New York can explain your options for banking sperm or freezing eggs prior to treatment. Because these procedures can take up to three weeks to complete, your oncologist determines if chemotherapy can be delayed based on how advanced the cancer is.

Rehabilitation

People who experience side effects of chemotherapy medications or radiation therapy—including fatigue, weakness, and numbness in the fingers and toes—have access to our rehabilitation experts at Rusk Rehabilitation.

Our rehabilitation doctors provide an evaluation, and may prescribe physical and occupational therapy to help you regain strength and manage fatigue. Physical therapy can also help prevent neuropathy, or nerve damage, from affecting your balance and your ability to walk.

Post-Treatment Monitoring

Your NYU Langone oncologist may recommend periodic screening for at least five years after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma ends. This may include blood tests, CT scans, PET scans, or PET/CT scans.

Integrative Health

Specialists at Perlmutter Cancer Center provide acupuncture, which uses fine needles to relieve cancer-related pain, as well as dry mouth and fatigue caused by radiation therapy. Our experts also offer stress-reducing massage therapy. These integrative therapies can help you cope with the diagnosis and symptoms, as well as ease treatment side effects.

Treatment for Relapse

A small percentage of people treated for Hodgkin lymphoma experience a relapse, or return, of the cancer after remission is achieved. If a relapse occurs, your NYU Langone oncologist creates a treatment plan, which may include an autologous stem cell transplant.

Some people who experience a relapse of Hodgkin lymphoma receive a new type of medication called a monoclonal antibody with an attached drug called brentuximab vedotin. The antibody attaches to CD30, a protein that appears on the surface of Hodgkin lymphoma cells, causing them to die.

New treatments for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma may be available through clinical trials, scientific studies designed to test promising new cancer treatments. Our experts have overseen many clinical trials for blood cancers. Your doctor can help you determine if a clinical trial is right for you.