©
CRUK Assets Hub
Radiotherapy has been used as a treatment for cancer since the early 1900s. It’s an effective treatment for lymphomas, and relatively modest doses of radiation can kill lymphoma cells.
Alongside chemotherapy, radiotherapy continues to be a standard treatment option for many cancer types but, like most cancer treatments, it comes with its own risks and potential side effects.
Hodgkin lymphoma can appear in many areas, as the lymphatic system spans the whole body. Mantle radiotherapy was originally a standard treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, and delivered the radiation treatment to a large area of the neck, chest and upper body. However, it has since become much less frequently used, as it has been shown to cause other forms of cancer, strokes and heart disease in patients 10+ years after treatment was finished.
Read the full blog on the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre website