Personal stories from real people who survived their disease … And how they did it!

personal stories from people who successfully battled their disease and how they did it

More about Lymphoma / Hodgkin’s / Non-Hodgkin’s

The lymph system is a series of lymph nodes and vessels that move lymph fluid through the body. Lymph fluids contain infection-fighting white blood cells. Lymph nodes act as filters, capturing and destroying bacteria and viruses to prevent infection from spreading. While the lymph system typically protects your body, lymph cells called lymphocytes can become cancerous. The names for cancers that occur in the lymph system are lymphomas. Doctors classify more than 70 cancer types as lymphomas. Lymphomas can affect any portion of the lymphatic system.

Types

The two major lymphoma types are Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). A pathologist in the 1800s named Dr. Thomas Hodgkin identified the cells in what is now called Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Those with Hodgkin’s lymphoma have large cancerous cells called Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells. People with NHL don’t have these cells. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), NHL is three times more common than Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Many lymphoma types fall under each category. Doctors call NHL types by the cells they affect, and if the cells are fast- or slow-growing. NHL forms in either the B-cells or T-cells of the immune system. According to LLS, most NHL types affect B-cells. Learn more about this type of lymphoma, who it affects, and where it occurs. Hodgkin’s lymphoma – Hodgkin’s lymphomas typically start in B-cells or immune system cells known as Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells. While the main cause of Hodgkin’s lymphoma is not known, certain risk factors can increase your chances of developing this type of cancer.

Symptoms

Lymphoma may not always cause symptoms in its early stages. Instead, a doctor may discover enlarged lymph nodes during a physical examination. These may feel like small, soft nodules under the skin. Many of the symptoms of early lymphoma are not specific. That makes them easy to overlook. often easily overlooked, it can be difficult to detect and then diagnose it in an early stage. It’s important to know how the symptoms may begin to change as the cancer worsens.