Systemic Lymphoma
Lymphoma is defined as a systemic disease. This means that it can, and often does, affect many or all of the systems within the body and for this reason it is vitally important that it is detected early and treated with an appropriate course of treatment. Lymphoma originates within a single lymph gland, often in the neck or armpit area, and depending on the rate at which it grows, it generally spreads to other areas of the body within 6-12 months although it can take over a year in very slow growing cases.
As the name suggests, lymphoma is a cancer that affects the lymphocyte cells of the immune system. These small colorless cells travel in both the lymphatic system and through the blood stream and so as soon as the original cluster of cancerous cells becomes large enough, small sections break off and travel to secondary sites in the body. It is at this point that the disease is classed as systemic and the first real noticeable symptoms become apparent.
Until the systemic stage of the disease occurs the only outward sign of lymphoma is localised swelling of the lymph glands. These are located in various areas around the body however the only ones that can be easily felt with the hand are in the neck (just underneath the jaw line to either side of the throat), in the armpit area and in the groin. Systemic symptoms however include fever and night sweats, abdominal swelling, pale skin and chronic fatigue (due to anaemia) and occasionally bone pain if the disease reaches the very late stages. It must be mentioned however that all of the symptoms listed above, including swollen glands, can be caused by other less serious conditions and so it is not a certainty that lymphoma is present if a person is suffering from these particular symptoms.
There are two main classes of lymphoma; Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The only difference between the two is that Hodgkin's disease affects a specific type of cell that is not affected in non-Hodgkin's disease. Both classes of lymphoma have the potential to affect the entire body and so both are classed as systemic.
While the lymphoma cells are confined to a single lymph gland it is possible to use radiotherapy as a treatment however as soon as the disease advances and starts to spread around the body then chemotherapy is also needed to ensure the best chance of recovery. Unfortunately because lymphoma is a systemic disease it is very difficult to kill off every single cancerous cell quickly and so lengthy courses of treatment are generally needed.
It is also unfortunate that lymphoma patients often relapse at some point after they have been given the all clear because there are many tissues and organs within the body where small clumps of cancerous cells can hide from the current forms of treatment. Survival rate for lymphoma is high though and providing the disease is diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible then there is a real chance of cure.