If your cancer is not responding to chemotherapy or radiation,
you may receive bone marrow transplantation or peripheral stem
cell transplantation. For each of these therapies, chemotherapy
drugs are given first to rid the body of the cancer cells. The
chemotherapy kills healthy cells as well. The transplanted stem
cells replace the missing disease-free cells. These methods are
still investigational, but they are thought to be effective
because Hodgkin’s disease usually responds to chemotherapy. In
addition, most patients are young and better able to withstand
these intense therapies. This page discusses the use of bone
marrow and peripheral stem cell transplantation for Hodgkin's
disease, for a more general discussion of these therapies for
cancer treatment, please see the bone marrow transplant
treatment monograph. Bone Marrow and Peripheral Stem Cell
Transplantation Bone marrow is a soft, sponge-like materiel
found inside certain bones, such as the heads of the femur and
humerus, the sternum, and the hip b