Hodgkin’s lymphoma or otherwise known as Hodgkin’s disease is one of two kinds of lymphoma or a cancer of the lymphatic system. Thomas Hodgkin was the first person who published documented studies of the disease hence the cancer was named after him. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is different from the other kind of lymphoma mainly through the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells in the cancer cells. These Reed-Sternberg cells can be seen through an open biopsy. In contrast, cells seen on non-Hodgkins lymphomas are mutated B-cells or T-cells.

It has been observed that Hodgkins lymphoma oftentimes begin to develop in the lymph nodes in the neck. This is again quite different from non-Hodgkins lymphoma which beings in different locations in the body. Nonetheless, since this is cancer were talking about, from the neck lymph node spreading to other lymph node groups, the lungs, spleen, and bone marrow is only natural and inevitable if no treatment is undergone. It seems also that Hodgkin’s lymphoma targets the immediate nearby lymphatic regions before leaving eventually the lymphatic system and spreading throughout other organs of the body.

According to studies, Hodgkins lymphoma is more likely to develop in young adolescents particularly those within the age range of 15 to 24 as well as those who are more than 60 years old. Again this is quite different from non-Hodgkins lymphoma which rarely happens in young people and instead is more common to people aged 60 years old and above.

In determining a diagnosis, one can actually self-diagnose at least initially. A doctors expertise is still needed, of course, for a more accurate diagnosis of the disease. The symptoms that have been reported are not that different from the other kinds of lymphoma. The presence of a painless lump in the lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin, recurrent fevers, unexplained weight loss, night sweats and itchy skins are among the warning signals of developing lymphoma.

Among the usual tests your doctors would require you to undertake includes blood tests to check abnormalities in the blood counts, blood chemistry, and abnormal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), X-rays to look at the lymph nodes, computerized tomography or CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scans of the chest, pelvis, and abdomen to see if the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.

Other scans that could be used to properly diagnose and determine the stage of the cancer are the positron emission tomography or PET scan which scans the cancer at a cellular level and the gallium scan which looks for radioactive intake of gallium which can mean the onset of the disease. There are other tests and procedures which doctors might conduct on you all in the aid of a proper and accurate diagnosis.

Hodgkins lymphoma has several sub-types, namely nodular sclerosis (NS) which hits the lower neck, chest and collarbone, lymphocyte predominance (LP) which is made of malignant L&H cells which have a “popcorn”, mixed cellularity (MC) which has lymph nodes that are usually contain Reed-Sternberg cells and inflammatory cells, lymphocyte depleted (LD), and nodular lymphocyte predominant (NLP).

As they say, knowing is half the battle. Knowing more about Hodgkins disease is a good thing. You can contribute fully to the decision making process if you know exactly the situation you are in.

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Instead of living in fear that you might have lymphoma, you should be very aware from the start of how the usual process goes. It will be better if you are going to find out more about it through research. You can get this done by going through various online resources as well as on printed books and professional studies that were conducted about the subject.

To help you understand the basic things about this illness, here is an overview of the various steps that a person goes through when they are suffering from this kind of cancer. The very first noticeable signs are the enlarged lymph nodes that can be found in the areas of armpits, neck and groin. In most cases, those who have these kinds of nodes also suffer from fever, loss of appetite and drastic weight loss.

When you seek the doctor’s help, they will require you to undergo excisional biopsy. To get this done, they will take small tissue sample from the organs or nodes that seem to be affected with the disease. This sample will be studied by a pathologist under the microscope. Other doctors may ask you to have the fine needle aspiration cytology or FNAC and will let you go through biopsy once they have determined that you have the illness. In most cases, patients go through the lymph node biopsy, but when the cancer affects other areas such as the stomach, brain or skin, the specific biopsy that are targeted to these organs will be done.

Once it was established that you are ill with this disease, the doctor will not be able to give you proper treatment until they know exactly what kind of the disorder you are dealing with. This can be ruled after the pathologist is done inspecting your biopsy sample under the microscope and they have seen the physical appearance of the cancer cells. The two main types of this sickness are the Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin or NHL. The types can also be understood through the use of markers that can point out special molecules on the affected cells.

After the diagnosis, the patient needs to undergo series of tests. Through the tests, it will be examined how far the disease has been spread through the body and what organs have already been infected. Depending on the doctor and how they perceive things, the individual may have to go through a bone marrow test, blood test and if the case is worse, they may need to seek chemotherapy treatment. After all the tests, the patient will discuss things with an oncologist about their other treatment options.

The best thing that you can do to stay healthy all the time is to eat right and lead an ideal lifestyle. This may not be that easy, especially if you are the type of person who loves going out while drinking alcohol and doing other vices. There are also those that no matter how healthy their lifestyle is, there are other factors that affect their overall well-being.

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Experts say that aside from being unfamiliar with signs and symptoms of lymphoma, this condition can be hard to notice because the usual signs can be quite common. Some may even be mistaken for common ailments such as fever and even colds. But if you are one of those that are at risksomebody who have cancer history in their families or those that have weak immune system that are prone to infectionsit would be best to have an appointment with your doctor.

The most common signs of lymphoma would include enlarged nodes that can be seen as lumps the neck, groin or armpits, non stop fever, loss of appetite, drastic weight loss, too much sweating during bedtime, itchiness on all parts of the body, exhaustion or the constant feeling of being weak, and breathlessness that is usually accompanied by swollen face and neck.

It is advisable that the person who experiences at least three of the mentioned symptoms would go to the doctor for a check up. Once the doctor suspects that you might be suffering from lymphoma, he or she would request for diagnostic procedures including biopsy to confirm the suspicions and to also determine how much damage have the cancer cells brought to the organs of the body.

Once final diagnosis has been made, a series of tests will soon follow in order to get detailed accounts of the disease. These reports are crucial in determining what kind of treatment should be given to the patient.

Treatment options

For those who are diagnosed with lymphoma, it is a must to undergo treatment in order to open up to greater chances of recovery. However, since there are almost 35 different types of lymphoma, the treatment options may also vary and could be on a case to case basis.

When it comes to treatment, experts say that it would be possible to use the same treatment for at least three or more types depending on their nature and the way the patient’s body reacts to it. To get better understanding in lymphoma treatment, here is some overview of the four major treatment options available for you:

1. Chemotherapy. Here, drugs are administered including infusions in the patient’s veins or can be used as in the form of pills. The most common chemotherapy schedules are ABVD, R-CHOP and CHOP.

2. Radiotherapy. This is a treatment options wherein high energy rays are used and directed exactly towards the tumor. Experts say that this can be delivered over small areas which involves field radiation or in large areas which involves extended field radiation.

3. Antibody therapy. Also known as “biological therapy”, this type of treatment make use of drugs such as “rituximab” which is specially designed to target special molecules that are present on the cancer cells’ surface.

4. Bone marrow or stem cell transplant. This is probably the most painful, not to mention the most expensivelymphoma treatment available. Here, high doses of radiation or chemotherapy are used in order to eliminate all cancer cells by killing them. What is good about this is that while it targets cancerous cells, it helps save the bone marrow through stem cells or through the use of marrow transplant.

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In all kinds of diseases and ailments knowing what you have exactly can mean life and death. Identifying, categorizing and understanding your current condition allow doctors to determine the proper and most effective means of making you better. Without proper diagnosis, the prescribed treatment can be useless and at times even prove to be deadly. In the case of lymphoma, one would encounter terms like biopsy, bone marrow examination, blood tests, spinal tap and scans which are some of the basic procedures employed by medical experts to determine or confirm the presence of lymphoma.

Usually, the very first thing that helps determine if one has lymphoma is self diagnosis. Those that observe enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin would more often than not trigger alarm bells in the their heads. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes and the immune system. As the cancer cells develop, a tumor is formed usually in the lymph nodes which manifests as painless lumps. Upon consultation, your doctor will issue a battery of tests to confirm if it is lymphoma and if it is indeed cancer determine what stage it is at to know the possible course of treatment.

A biopsy is usually the first test that your doctors will employ to confirm the presence of cancer in your lymph nodes. In a biopsy, a small sample of tissue cells is taken from the lump either through a needle or via surgery. The cells are then examined by a pathologist to confirm lymphoma cells and the diagnoses. By studying the sample cells, the can also determine the basic kind of lymphoma the patient has, whether its Hodgkin or Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But to determine the subtle details, doctors revert to the procedure called as immunohistochemistry which simply means looking for the unique properties of the tumor cell surface through the application markers such as fluorescent dye, enzyme, or colloidal gold to accurately classify the tumor.

You doctor would most likely require you to undergo several blood tests. The blood samples would be examined closely to see the state of your red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets. These tests would also help determine if the cancer has affected your bodys way of producing blood. The blood tests could also show the condition of your kidneys and liver. And more importantly, the information gathered from the tests could serve as basic foundations for the kind of treatments or drugs that could be used for your speedy recovery.

Doctors might also require you to undergo a bone marrow test wherein a sample of the bone marrow is taken from your hip using a thin needle. It is a common procedure used to test for various cancers and other blood diseases. A spinal tap or lumbar puncture can also be ordered by your doctor in specific circumstances. This checks the fluid in your spinal cord and determines if any cancer cells have invaded the spine. This procedure involves inserting a thin needle at the lower part of your back and I can be quite painful and uncomfortable.

CT scans will also help determine where the tumors are exactly since it takes pictures of your body from different angles. An MRI scan, on the hand, will help determine if the cancer cells have spread to your nervous system or other body organs.

How doctors tests for lymphoma involves logical procedures whose main goal is finding out what exactly the patient has in order to determine what kinds of treatments would be used.

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