Cancer Survivors Network

From what I understand, the 2 additional cycles of chemo after clean scans comes from clinical studies that have been done which showed similar relapse-free and overall survival rates when 2 additional cycles were given after clean scans as opposed to a fewer number of chemo cycles plus radiation. Believe me, my wife would have loved to have 1 less chemo cycle too, but if it gives you any better chance at all of being done with Hodgkins for good, then the extra cycle is worth it.

I had 8 ABVD treatments, after which I was rescanned. If I had been clean, I would've gotten 4 more treatments; I was not, so I got 8 more. The thing about Hodgkins is that it is a very treatable cancer. It is curable well over 90% of the time. They hit it hard, and even go a little overboard to be sure that they mop up any cells that might remain because if they don't get it all with the first round of treatments and it doesn't really all go away, it comes back meaner and badder than ever. Despite having had all 16 ABVD treatments and 5 weeks of daily radiation, mine never really went away. I ended up with a mess! I needed a stem cell transplant and that seems to have done the trick. I would avoid that at all costs! I would recommend doing what the doctor is suggesting. You really don't want to end up with something left behind.