Treatments

For more information on individual disease treatments click on one of the links below or contact info@leukaemia.org.nz.

* Leukaemia
* Acute myeloid leukaemia
* Chronic myeloid leukaemia
* Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
* Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
* Multiple myeloma
* Lymphoma
* Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
* Hodgkin lymphoma

Information contained in this section is only intended as a basic guide, and all treatment options should be fully discussed with your doctor.

Some people with leukaemia or related diseases might not require treatment, but where necessary it can include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, or a combination of these.

In most cases, the treatment prescribed is intended to either halt or slow the growth of abnormal cells in order to control some of the symptoms associated with the disease, or to eradicate all the abnormal cells that have accumulated, so that the blood and bone marrow can return to normal.

When the bone marrow does return to normal the disease is said to be in 'remission'. However, being in remission does not necessarily guarantee that all the abnormal cells have been completely eradicated and often further treatment, called consolidation therapy, is given. This involves additional doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy (depending on the disease being treated), therefore increasing the chance of a cure or disease-free survival.

There may be the possibility that after treatment, small numbers of abnormal cells still exist in the bone marrow and, at a later stage, the disease might grow back, called a relapse. Re-treatment may, or may not, produce another complete remission.