Lymphoma Cancer

The average cost of treatment of lymphoma cancer in India is around $18,000 for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer and $22,000 for Non – Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer. But the cost may slightly vary, based on the doctor, the experience of the specialist, the state, the severity, and the condition of the patient, and so on.

What Is All About Lymphoma Cancer?

Cancer is the most commonly occurring disease in the world today and if the disease is left untreated for a long time there remains a little chance of survival. To detect the presence of cancer and to consult the doctor about the development of cancer in your body, it requires ample information and knowledge to gather.

Lymphoma or lymph gland cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system of the body that comprises of lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels of the body that help to carry lymph fluid throughout the body that helps to increase the body’s immunity by fighting against any type of infection by bacteria, fungi, virus or any other forms of parasites.

Lymphoma cancer develops in the body when the cells in the lymphatic system start abnormal division and the lymphocytic cells become cancerous. This cancer not only damages the lymphatic system of the body but also affects body parts such as spleen, thymus, bone marrow, tonsil, and many others. There are two broad types of lymphoma cancer variations. They are:

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

This form is quite rare, and it is usually found to occur within the B-lymphocytes present in the bone marrow.

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

The most commonly- occurred form of lymphoma cancer where there are no RS cells, that is found to develop among aged individuals.

Under these two broad types, there can be at least about 70 other types of lymphoma cancer.

Symptoms Of Lymphoma Cancer

In the early stages, like most other types of cancer, there is no such symptom of lymphoma cancer that is very much noticeable. But there are certain common symptoms that will occur if an individual develops this form of cancer. Some such symptoms of lymphoma cancer are as follows:

Abdominal pain and loss of appetite
Symptoms of cold with mild to severe cough, fever and feeling of chills
Excessive sense of tiredness and exhaustion
Enlargement of spleen
Abdominal pain and loss of appetite
Unexpected weight loss
Rashes, red spots, and feeling of itchiness on skin
Breathing difficulties
Night sweats

Though all these symptoms might look like trivial, and people tend to ignore them in the early stages, it is highly recommended to consult your health care expert, the moment any one of these symptoms becomes visible, otherwise if the treatment is delayed, there will be little chance of survival in the end.

Causes Of Lymphoma Cancer

Though there is no reason behind the occurrence of lymphoma cancer but there are certain common causes that are considered responsible for the occurrence of lymphoma cancer. Those probable causes are as follows:

Age: The occurrence of lymphoma cancer is more among aged individuals, who are 55+ or within 60 than the younger generations.
Gender: lymphoma cancer is more commonly found among men than in women.
Lack of immunity: Weak immune system is a major cause of getting lymphoma cancer.
Infections and STDs: Those who have STDs such as HIV and so on and certain types of infections such as hepatitis C and human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma are at greater chances of getting lymphoma cancer.
The presence of lymphoma in the genes and family traits.
Those who are exposed to harmful chemicals such as benzene and other nitrates in pesticides and insecticides and radiation waves are highly vulnerable.

Stages Of Lymphoma Cancer

Like all other types of cancer, Lymphoma cancer too has been divided into 4 stages based on stages of its development, severity and condition of the patient, treatability of the disease and so on. The stages of lymphoma cancer can be described in detail as follows:

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 1

This is the initial stage of the cancer, when it has just started developing within the body and shows no noticeable symptom. This is stage when the cancer is easily treatable.

Stage 2

This is the stage when the cancer has just grown a bit larger and affected the lymph nodes and lymphatic cells. In this stage the cancer has just started spreading into the other parts of the body such as the lymph nodes and goes outside the cervical region.

Stage 3

In this stage the cancer has already spread into different parts of the body, out into the lymph nodes and affected the surrounding areas.

Stage 4

This is the last and the most dangerous stage of the cancer when it has affected almost the entire lymphatic system of the body and when the cancer is hardly treatable.

Diagnosis Of Lymphoma Cancer

Oncologists and health care experts use several kinds of methods for the diagnosis of lymphoma cancer. Some of the procedures are as follows:

Checking the physical condition and medical history of the patient

Blood Tests and physical examinations

Lymph Node Biopsy

Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy

Checking the physical condition and medical history of the patient

It is solely important to check the medical past of the patient and to know whether the patient had any kind of surgery previously, whether she or he has a history of allergic reactions to certain classes of medicines or have other chronic conditions such as swelling of nodes, anemia, skin rashes, and many others. This information is crucial for the physician to note so that the doctor can treat the patient accordingly.

Blood Tests and physical examinations

Blood tests are performed for diagnosing lymphoma cancer to know the blood profile within the patient’s body and to check the count of red blood cells or RBC, white blood cells or WBC, and platelets.

Lymph Node Biopsy

Biopsy of the lymph node is often recommended by oncologists and health care experts to check the condition of lymph nodes and to study the presence of lymphoma cells.

Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy

A bone marrow aspiration and biopsy is prescribed by many health care experts for the diagnosis of lymphoma cancer to collect the liquid portion or aspiration and/ or the solid portion or biopsy of the bone marrow to study the growth and development of cancer in the region.

Methods And Procedures of Treating Lymphoma Cancer

There are a several number of factors that are considered before the procedure of treating any kind of lymphoma cancer begins by your concerned oncologist or health care experts. Some of those factors are the type of the cancer that has developed and the severity of the disease, the stage of development of the cancer, medical history and the age of the patient and the level of treatability. There are certain common methods and procedures to treat lymphoma cancer. Those commonly used processes are listed here as follows:

Surgery

Active Surveillance

Chemotherapy

Radiation Therapy

Stem Cell Transplantation

Immunotherapy or Biological Therapy

Surgery

Surgical resection is a type of surgery that removes a tumor. During the procedure, the surgeon makes an incision (cut) near the tumor to remove it. Tissue around the tumor and nearby lymph nodes may also be removed during the operation.

Active Surveillance

In this method, the progress and development of the disease is kept under surveillance and the oncologist, or the surgeon treats the disease after it has started revealing the symptoms and the disease has grown enough.

Chemotherapy

This is the most common technique of treating any kind of cancer and one of the most recommended processes by oncologist surgeons and health care experts. Through the method of chemotherapy, the cancer- infected cells or the lymphoma cells are destroyed by the application of medications and drugs.

Radiation Therapy

During radiation therapy, high-energy radiation beams, which could be X-rays or proton beams, are used to destroy cancer cells in specific regions. In the case of lymphoma, radiation therapy is administered to destroy the lymphoma cells that are accumulated in lymph nodes or in any specific organs.

Stem Cell Transplantation

This process is an amalgamation of chemotherapy and surgery where the abnormal cancer- affected cells are replaced by healthy and normal cells. This method also replaces the affected cells within the bone marrow by proper- functioning cells from the body of a healthy donor. This treatment is usually recommended by doctors and health care experts in case of lymphoma relapses.

Immunotherapy or Biological Therapy

Immunotherapy is another method of treating lymphoma cancer through which the rarest of the conditions of lymphoma cancer are treated. This therapy is also used to increase the capability of the immune system of the patient and check the growth of lymphoma cells in the body.

FAQs

Can lymphoma cancer be easily treated?

Lymphoma cancer can be easily treated through the above- mentioned methods, if detected in the early stages, but lingering the diagnosis for a longer period might increase the complications.

Will I get lymphoma cancer if I have it in my genes or in the family history?

Though there are high chances of getting lymphoma cancer if the cancer is present in the family traits, but the scenario is not always the same.

Can I again have lymphoma cancer after getting treated?

Lymphoma cancer can rarely occur twice after the treatment or surgery. For this reason, it is very important to remain in regular check- ups after surgery and follow the instructions of the health care expert properly.

How to keep away the disease?

It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, reduce the consumption of junk foods, alcohol, and smoking and have proper diet full of nutrients to get rid of lymphoma or any kind of cancer.