You'll need regular checkups after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. Even when there are no longer any signs of cancer, the disease sometimes returns because undetected lymphoma cells may remain somewhere in your body after treatment.

Also, checkups help detect health problems that can result from cancer treatment. People treated for Hodgkin lymphoma have an increased chance of developing heart disease; leukemia; melanoma; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and cancers of the bone, breast, lung, stomach, and thyroid. Checkups help ensure that any changes in your health are noted and treated if needed. Checkups may include a physical exam, blood tests, chest x-rays, CT scans, and other tests.

After treatment, people with Hodgkin lymphoma may receive the flu vaccine and other vaccines. You may want to talk with your health care team about when to get certain vaccines.

If you have any health problems between checkups, you should contact your doctor.

You may wish to get the NCI booklet Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment ¹. It answers questions about follow-up care and other concerns.

Dictionary Terms

Cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream.

A form of cancer that begins in melanocytes (cells that make the pigment melanin). It may begin in a mole (skin melanoma), but can also begin in other pigmented tissues, such as in the eye or in the intestines.