What is non-Hodgkins lymphoma?
Lymphoma is known for the development of lumps in certain parts of the body or enlargement of the lymph nodes, particularly in the armpit, groin and neck. It can also affect infants and young adults. There are many types of lymphoma in the world and one of the common types that have killed over a thousand of individuals is recorded due to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Non-Hodgkins lymphoma has different forms of grouping and it depends according to what it looks like under a microscope. The following are brief descriptions of the causes, symptoms of lymphoma and the treatments utilized by doctors.
Causes
No one really knows what causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma until today. Scientists depend on the risk factors they have identified to know where and how the patients have acquired the disease. There are several risk factors that they have identified and this includes the genes, environmental factors, virus and hazardous chemicals. Age is also seen as one of the risk factors because as an individual grow older, the immune system could also weaken and the ability to protect the body from infectious diseases decreases. There are also cases where an individual is exposed to the risk factor but no symptoms have developed, yet they have lymphoma.
Symptoms
The symptoms for non-Hodgkins lymphoma are almost similar with the other type, Hodgkins lymphoma. Patients will start to notice swollen lymph nodes or enlargement of nodes in the neck area, underarm and groin. They will most likely experience night sweating even though the room temperature is not too hot. Night sweating for lymphoma patients is totally drenched with their own sweat that sometimes they need to change their beddings. Persistent occurrence of high fever together with night sweating is already bothersome and could indicate cancer. The pattern of fever for lymphoma is different compared with the usual fever that everyone is experiencing. It will last for a week, where the temperature reaches up to 45 C; it will fall after two to three days and returns again with the same temperature. Body itching can indicate other cancer type or dry skin only. It is important to have this condition diagnosed with a specialist if you are suffering from skin itching because it can also be a serious type of disease. Other indication of lymphoma includes unexplainable weight loss, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
Treatments
Standard treatments are commonly utilized for lymphoma. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the first on the list of specialists as the solution. They provide cancer killing drugs to patients administered either by pills or though IV injected to the veins. It is considered beneficial because it can travel to many areas of the body affected by metastasis. On the other hand, radiotherapy is also helpful especially when the tumor or mass of cancer is specifically located. The high beam of radiation can shrink the size of tumor or completely dissolve it. The level of radiation beams would depend according to the type of lymphoma you have, the size of tumor and the how far it has spread to other parts of the body. Surgery is seldom an option for lymphoma, especially if it can only worsen the condition of the patient. Instead, doctors would recommend their patients for clinical trials and other alternative treatments where they can have a better survival rate.
