Newly Diagnosed?
We Can Help Information for those newly diagnosed with lymphoma 
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Physicians generally treat classical Hodgkin's lymphoma with combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma with involved-field radiotherapy -- radiation limited to the area where disease is detected.
Early-Stage Disease
For early-stage disease of both types, physicians are working to reduce both the size of the area exposed to radiation and the dose of radiation; to avoid chemotherapy that may lead to late complications; and to combine fewer cycles of more effective and less toxic agents such as ABVD (doxorubicin [Adriamycin], bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) with reduced radiotherapy.
Advanced-Stage Disease
For advanced-stage disease, the standard of care is combination chemotherapy: ABVD or Stanford V (an intensive, short-course, seven-drug regimen). The role of radiotherapy combined with ABVD is still controversial; current studies indicate that additional radiotherapy reduces relapse rates but does not improve overall survival. Stanford V is most often administered as a combination program with chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy.
