Treating Cutaneous Lymphoma
33
Many effective treatment options exist for cutaneous lymphoma. Your
healthcare team will determine the best course of treatment for you based
on a set of variables:
• Goals of therapy
• Stage of disease
• Prior treatments and the response to those treatments
• Age and activity level
• Costs, coverage, and accessibility
• Other health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, etc.
• General health concerns and lifestyle considerations
In treating cutaneous lymphomas, unlike most other cancers, physicians
often use the same treatment repeatedly, such as light therapy and
radiation. What worked once often will work again. Patients with early-
stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) can often achieve long-lasting
remissions with skin-directed therapies. InCTCL, sincemalignant T-cells are
thought to spend themajority of their time in the skin and are dependent on the
skin for survival, therapies aimed at the skin are likely to be effective for a long time.
Across the United States, there are many cutaneous lymphoma treatment
centers. Many patients find they need only to visit their doctor’s office for
treatment, while others require a local hospital or a specialized cutaneous
lymphoma treatment center. It is important during and after treatment
to keep a master file of medical records for future reference as needed.
Documentation tools are available at Cancer101 (
) and
LIVESTRONG (
) for capturing the data associated
with care and treatment. These are free to patients.
The goal of treatment for cutaneous lymphoma is to clear up all patches,
plaques, or tumors; to reduce the number of T-lymphocytes in the blood
(for Sézary syndrome); and to relieve symptoms such as pain, itching,
Chapter 7
Treatment Options
2
