What Will Lymphoma Do and how will it affect us.?!


Question: What Will Lymphoma Do and how will it affect us..?
My cousins Husband was just told that he has a mass in his chest and that it lymphoma. Though right now they are doing a cat-scan and then a biopsy to make sure it is what they doctors think it is. But what are the survival rates of someone who has this type of cancer. I found different website but i really dont understand all the medical terms. I just want to know if he will be ok or not.? They arent telling us much, but im sure its because they dont know much but can anyone give me an idea of what to expect.Health Question & Answer


Answers:
First of all, lymphoma is very diverse set of cancers, so it is difficult to generalize. Some lymphomas are curable and most are treatable. How he does depends on what kind of lymphoma it is, his general health, and what stage the lymphoma is at.

Treatment-wise, lymphomas are usually treated with chemotherapy. Sometimes radiation is also done. The only role surgery plays in lymphoma is determining the kind of lymphoma through biopsy.

To understand lymphoma, first thing you need to understand is Non-Hodgkin's versus Hodgkin's Disease. These are the two major groupings of lymphoma. Hodgkin's Disease (HD) is fairly rare -- about 8,000 cases per year. It is, however, the most common cancer in the 15-35 age group and tends to produce chest masses. Even stage 4 Hodgkin's Disease is curable and has a 5-year survival rate of about 70%.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (N-HL) is every other kind of lymphoma that isn't HD (the difference is determined by the pathologist -- otherwise symptom wise you can't tell Hodgkin's from N-HL). There are about 30+ different kinds of N-HL. Some different types include Marginal Zone, Diffuse Large B-Cell, Lymphoblastic, etc. N-HLs are further broken down into two categories -- aggressive and indolent -- based on how fast the disease spreads. Aggressive N-HLs are more dangerous because they spread quickly, but they also tend to respond very well to chemotherapy. Diffuse Large B-Cell is an aggressive N-HL. Other lymphomas are slow growing. These are called indolent lymphomas. They tend to progress very slowly, but are less treatable with chemotherapy.

Some N-HLs are curable. Others are treatable. Others do not carry a very good prognosis.

Once they determine what kind of lymphoma it is, the next most important thing is the stage. Lymphoma is staged by the location of the effected nodes. If one location is involved, it's usually stage one. If two locations or more on the same side of the diaphragm (your breathing muscle) are involved it's stage two. If nodes are involved on both sides of the diaphragm it is stage three. Finally, if any organ other than the spleen is effected or the bone marrow is effected, that is considered stage four.

To the stage is assigned a letter. The most common is A and B. A means you do not have any of these symptoms: drenching night sweats, weight loss of 10% or more, and/or fevers. B means you have those symptoms. B is usually considered more severe disease. Other letters include X (bulky disease), S (splenic involvement), L (liver involvement), E (extranodal disease), etc.

Once you find out what kind of lymphoma he has and what stage it is, you'll be able to understand more.

For additional information here is a good website: http://www.lymphomainfo.net/lymphoma.htm...Health Question & Answer

It really depends on what type of lymphoma it turns out to be. There are 43 different types of lymphoma as recognized by the World Health Organization, so more than likely an honest prognosis won't be able to be given until the biopsied tumor is examined by a pathologist.

In other words, the doctors will need to remove the mass that has grown from your cousin's husband's lymph node - a part of his immune system that fights of disease. Once the mass has been removed, a specialist will determine the type of lymphoma that he has and will then communicate that information to the oncologist (cancer doctor). From there, a course of action will be mapped out which may include chemotherapy, radiation, and/or further surgery.Health Question & Answer

Well First let me say I am sorry for you and your family. My mom has lymphoma and sorry to say but there is no cure for it. It started with the lymph nodes in her stomach but has now spread to her neck, and chest. The thing is there are over 400 lymph nodes in your body and the cancer can spread to all of them. I wish you and you family good luck with the battle.Health Question & Answer

You need to wait to see what type and stage he is in. Hopefully it will be non-hogskins which is more treatable with a better out come. There is no cure but it is very treatable . God Bless and good luck.Health Question & Answer

My prayers are with you and your family in this time of need.
you can go to www.lymphoma.org. They have a lot of information there.
goodluckHealth Question & Answer



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