Lymphomas are cancers of the lymph system which ironically is part of the body’s defense mechanism to fight off infections and diseases. But sometimes the abnormal growth of the healthy lymphatic cells causes the tissues to mass up creating tumors and eventually becoming cancer cells. If left untreated, the cancer cells can easily break away from the tissues and begin infecting other parts of the lymphatic system and eventually moving to other organs of the body. There are essentially two kinds of lymphomas, the Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. Other lymphomas do not contain these cells so the rest of the lymphomas were classified as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or NHL. There are a number of sub-types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Each are quite distinct targeting specific age groups aside from having unique forms.
One kind of NHL is the lymphoblastic lymphoma or LBL which commonly occurs in children. In fact about 30% of documented cases of lymphomas in children have been classified as lymphoblastic lymphomas. LBL is very aggressive kind of NHL and has caused quite a number of deaths in the past. But because of modern medicine and treatment techniques, LBL patients have better odds of surviving the ordeal.
Unlike LBL, the diffuse histiocytic lymphoma type or DHL is a slow growing cancer. And because it is slow-growing the cancer is quite hard to detect. Also, there are times where the cancer reappears after treatment.
Another kind of NHL appears closer to the body’s surface. The cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or CTLC is a kind of lymphoma that affects the skin. What happens is that the white blood cells of the skin become cancerous. At first, the signs are dry, scaly skin with red or dark patches. These areas of the skin also itch a lot. But as the cancer cells continue to grow, the skin will develop highly noticeable tumors. Eventually the cancer cells enter the blood stream and spreads all over the body which soon infects other tissues and organs.
Although not common, the mantle cell lymphoma is another kind of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This cancer borders on being rare since only an estimated 5% of people diagnosed with NHL have it. It seems that the cancer is more likely to occur in men 50 years old and older. The cancer starts off as a slow growing lymphoma but can suddenly become aggressive in later stages.
Doctors have made 4 classifications or stages of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which basically indicates how fast and how far the cancer cells have spread. Stage 1 is when the cancer cells are grouped in lymph node or organ of the body. In stage 2 the cancer has spread to two or more groups of lymph nodes or organs on the same side of your diaphragm. Stage 3 is where the cancer cells have infected organs on both sides of the diaphragm and finally stage 4 is when the different types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma have gone beyond the lymphatic system and infecting other organs like the liver, bones, and lungs.
Want to get info about The Types of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma? This sources hopefully help:
- types of nhl nonhodgkin's lymphoma oncology channel" from this page:
Throughout the past 40 years, the classification of lymphoma has changed considerably. Like Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is composed of a very mixed group of
Source: http://www.oncologychannel.com/nonhodgkins/types.shtml - overview nonhodgkin's lymphoma oncology channel" from this page:
Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, one form of lymphoma, is more unpredictable than Hodgkin's disease. For this reason the source and type is very important.
Source: http://www.oncologychannel.com/nonhodgkins/index.shtml - nonhodgkin's lymphoma" from this page:
The non-Hodgkins lymphomas (NHL) are a group of cancers that develop in the bodys lymphatic system. There are many different types of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Source: http://adam.about.com/reports/Non-Hodgkin-s-lymphoma.htm - leukemia amp; lymphoma society nonhodgkin lymphoma" from this page:
Fighting leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are the two main types of lymphoma.
Source: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=7087 - nonhodgkin lymphoma home page national cancer institute" from this page:
Information about non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, clinical trials, research, statistics, and other topics from the National Cancer Institute.
Source: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/non-hodgkin - what is nonhodgkin lymphoma?" from this page:
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in cells called lymphocytes, which are part of
Source: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/Non-HodgkinLymphoma/DetailedGuide/non-hodgkin-lymphoma-what-is-non-hodgkin-lymphoma - nonhodgkin's lymphoma nhl patient information" from this page:
They are all called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to distinguish them from another cancer of the lymphocytes called Hodgkin's lymphoma. On this page:
Source: http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Lrn_about_Disease/NHL/index.html - www patientcenters com nonhodgkin's lymphoma center " from this page:
The Patient Centered Guides Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma resource center is for families coping with NHL. You can find resources, including information
Source: http://www.patientcenters.com/lymphoma/news/nhl2.html - nonhodgkin lymphoma wikipedia the free encyclopedia" from this page:
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a diverse group of blood cancers The first classification of Hodgkin's Lymphoma was proposed by Robert J. Lukes in 1963.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Hodgkin_lymphoma - nonhodgkin's lymphoma bc cancer agency" from this page:
Information about Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma from the BC Cancer Agency. Whether the types of cells affected are: large, small or a mixture of both and how well differentiated
Source: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/TypesofCancer/NonHodgkinsLymphoma/default.htm
