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Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells.
Radiation might be used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in some different situations:
When radiation is used to treat NHL, it’s most often done with a carefully focused beam of radiation, delivered from a machine outside the body. This is known as external beam radiation. External beam radiation treatment for NHL might include beams made of photons (most common), protons or electrons depending on the situation.
Before your treatment starts, your radiation team will take careful measurements to find the correct angles for aiming the radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. This planning session, called simulation, usually includes getting imaging tests such as CT or MRI scans.
Most often, radiation treatments are given 5 days a week for several weeks. The treatment is much like getting an x-ray, but the radiation is stronger. The procedure itself is painless. Each treatment lasts only a few minutes, although the setup time – getting you into place for treatment – usually takes longer.
Radiation can also be given as a drug in some cases. (See Immunotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for more details.)
The side effects of radiation therapy depend on where the radiation is aimed. Common side effects include:
Nausea and diarrhea are more common if the abdomen (belly) is treated with radiation.
Radiation given to several areas, especially after chemotherapy, can lower blood cell counts and increase the risk of infections.
Radiation to the head and neck area can lead to mouth sores and trouble swallowing. Some people later have problems with dry mouth.
Often these effects go away shortly after treatment is finished.
Side effects tend to be worse if radiation and chemotherapy are given together.
Radiation techniques are much more advanced and can limit the radiation exposure to nearby organs, but long-term serious side effects are possible:
To learn more about how radiation is used to treat cancer, see Radiation Therapy.
To learn about some of the side effects listed here and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Freedman AS, Jacobson CA, Mauch P, Aster JC. Chapter 103: Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In: DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, eds. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015.
National Cancer Institute. External Beam Radiation Therapy for Cancer. 2018. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/radiation-therapy/external-beam on August 26, 2019.
National Cancer Institute. Physician Data Query (PDQ). Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment. 2018. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma/hp/adult-nhl-treatment-pdq on May 3, 2018.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Practice Guidelines in Oncology: B-Cell Lymphomas. Version 4.2019. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/b-cell.pdf on August 26, 2019.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Practice Guidelines in Oncology: T-cell Lymphomas. Version 3.2018. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/t-cell.pdf on May 2, 2018.
Roschewski MJ, Wilson WH. Chapter 106: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier; 2014.
Last Revised: August 26, 2019
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