Diagnosing lymphoma

To diagnose a lymphoma case if very difficult because many of the lymphoma symptoms are similar to those of other medical conditions. However, based on the symptoms, you might suspect a lymphoma case and go see a doctor, where you will have a physical examination. Only through this thorough examination, and sometimes x- rays, your doctor can diagnose you with lymphoma.

When you go see your physician for an examination because you suspect a lymphoma case, here is what to expect: he/ she will start to palpate all your lymph nodes. They are situated in your neck, right under your chin, around your tonsils, your elbows, shoulders, in your groin area and under your arms. Besides this examination of these areas of your body in order to proper diagnose lymphoma, your doctor will also feel your abdomen and chest to see if there is any swelling there as well. Your liver and spleen will also be examined by palpation. If your doctor, after this examination, believes that there is a presence of lymphoma, further test will be made. The physical examination is just the beginning of the lymphoma diagnoses process. The test that are made after the examination serve to better determine if you indeed are suffering from lymphoma or not. A biopsy, x- rays, blood tests and scans are the next tests that you will have to take in order to be diagnosed with lymphoma. If the results in those lymphoma tests
are inconclusive, then you will probably also have to take a bone marrow test.

Lymphoma symptoms are not enough to diagnose this disease, because they can also be associated with other diseases as well. However, they serve to give you an idea that something is wrong. Here are some of the most common symptoms of lymphoma:
- swollen nodes, which are painless is the primary lymphoma sign;
- anemia, loose of weight and fatigue also tell you that you might be suffering from lymphoma;
- fever and sweating, mostly at night, for no apparent reason are also signs that indicate a lymphoma case;
- shortness of breath and an annoying, persistent cough are also lymphoma symptoms;
- itching, sometimes all over your body is one of the lymphoma signs as well;

There are also some other symptoms which can indicate a lymphoma case, but they are less common. Back pain or swollen tissues are some of the rare lymphoma symptoms. They appear because your lymph nodes can actually compress some of your nerves.


By: Groshan Fabiola


Check Out the Related Article : Leukemia Symptoms

Gleevec therapy method for Leukemia

The therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia with Gleevec (Imatinib mesylate) began to be used in patients in 2001 and seemed to be real success. Since that time, a clinical study revealed the efficiency of Gleevec in other cancer types as well such as in hypereosinophilic syndrome, another blood cancer.

Gleevec is a targeted drug on abnormal cells of the body and doesn’t attack healthy cells like other chemotherapeutics. Gleevec is efficient against a protein called BCR-ABL from the class of enzymes known as thyrosine kinases which is responsible for the excessive multiplication of mature and immature white blood cells in the chronic myeloid Leukemia.

Most cancer forms are caused by genetic mistakes leading to the production of malfunctioning proteins that send a wrong message to the cells. When the abnormal enzymes are inhibited by chemotherapy, the cancer progression is also stopped. Scientists work to find other similar drugs like Gleevec that have the capacity to inhibit dysfunctional enzymes such as tyrosine kinases.

In normal conditions, tyrosine kinases send different signals to the cells stimulating them to perform different actions. Abnormal enzymes send modified messages to the cells allowing them to multiply particular cells in an abnormal rate and cancer appears. 4500 new cases of CML are discovered every year and Gleevec was firstly used on this type of cancer. Chronic myeloid leukemia is caused by a translocated, genetically modified chromosome called Philadelphia causing the occurrence of abnormal tyrosine kinases. This is the primer cause of leukemic cells occurrence in the bone marrow and blood.

Many of the chemotherapeutics used to treat leukemia have negative effects on other healthy tissues as well like skin, bone marrow, and gastrointestinal track or hair follicles, and causes injuries to organs like heart, kidneys or lungs. Gleevec is targeted on mutant protein and enzyme cells and only destructs this type of genetically modified tissues. Gleevec also has its side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, skin rashes or fluid retention due to its toxicity but they are far less dangerous for the human body than other drugs.

The drug therapy using Gleevec proved far more efficient than earlier methods and showed real more improvements for the CML patients. It impressively reduces the number of white blood cells and the number of leukemic cells inside the bone marrow. Gleevec can also be used on persons not responding to the Interferon therapy or the ones that proved intolerant to it.

The administration of Gleevec is easier as well as it is available as a pill not as injections like most of the other drugs. This aspect makes the self-administration possible and spares patients from staying in the hospital for long periods of time.


By: Groshan Fabiola

Do you want to know about "Statistic data on Leukemia", if yes so you can check this link below..
Statistic data on Leukemia


Check Out the Related Article : What is Leukemia?

Used methods for killing leukemia

The most common treatment for leukemia is the chemotherapy.The therapy for children is produced by radiation and it is used only to treat leukemia in the central nervous system and the testicles.Unfortunately leukemia cannot be cured by surgery.A stem-cell transplant is the method which can be used.

Besides chemotherapy, immunotherapy can be successfully used.Therapeutic vaccines are used in human patients.Induction, consolidation and maintenance are the three phases of chemotherapy used in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia and it develops over the course of a two to three year period.

In the case of chemotherapy induction and intensification are used for treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia.Chemotherapeutic drugs provided by the cerebrospinal fluid are received by patients throughout the course of treatment.In what concerns the cerebrospinal fluid chemotherapy discourage the spread of leukemia cells to the central nervous system.

Remission is the goal of induction.The body eliminates 99 percent of leukemia cells.The bone marrow is filled with normal hematopoietic stem cells.For most cases chemotherapy treatments last for about a month.For the patients with high-risk higher doses are used and for the acute myelogenous leukemia, different drugs are used.In both cases chemotherapy is continuously administered for ten consecutive days.

For inducing remission of acute promyelocytic leukemia are used retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide, after month of treatment patients survive induction.The person’s condition is critical until blood counts return to normal.Different treatments are required by chronic forms of the disease.The treatment is succesful by using the following medication:imatinib mesylate for patients with chronic myelogenousleukemia and cladribine and 2-deoxycoformycin which are both effective against hairy cell leukemia, a type of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Ten billion leukemia cells remain in the body after induction.The role of goals of consolidation referring to an intensification are to eliminate leukemia cells from locations such as the central nervous system and the testicles,where the cancer cells remains undetected by the immune system;the role of the cells being the one which reduces the number of leukemia cells remaining in the body.The last phase of treatment is the maintenance.Patients with low-risk and high-risk receive different drugs for leukemia in this case,but the drugs are used at lower doses than in the induction phase.

A relatively-new and complex treatment for leukemia is transplantation which consist in cells collected from cavities within bones where blood cells form or from the blood.For children with a poor chance of survival and for whom the treatment relapses the transplantation is used.Blood-forming stem cells are collected from patient or a donor with a nearly identical cell type.In this case the cells are frozen for storage.If the umbilical cord blood is available it can be use as a source of stem cells.

To kill all cancerous cells the patient follows a treatment with a very high dose of chemotherapy and radiation.All normal bone marrow cells are killed due to the does of chemotherapy and radiation.Then the bone marrow is repopulated by the stored stem cells which return to the body.To treat disease and also to maintain the immunity of the body immunotherapy is used.For the patients with leukemia interferon alfa which is an immune-system activator produced as a drug for bolstering the immune system of the body is successfully used.

The custom-made and duplicated antibody is produced in the laboratory and it is designed to interfere with malignant cells only which can also reduce the number of disease cells.Mylotarg is the monoclonal antibody has been approved for treatment of adults with refractory acute myelogenous leukemia.The improved technics and the science evolution have helped the people to find out different ways of destroying leukemia.


By: Groshan Fabiola


Check Out the Related Article : What is Leukemia?

Lymphoma people are different

One of the first things I noticed after being diagnosed with lymphoma is that my lymphoma compadres appear to be a little different from those with other cancers.

Even though 60,000 people are newly diagnosed each year, the disease is rarely mentioned in the news despite the fact that some very famous people have died from the disease. Jackie Onassis died from NHL as did King Hussein of Jordan. Baseball great Roger Maris, aviator Charles Lindbergh, cartoonist Jeff MacNelly (”Shoe”), and director Louis Malle all died from lymphoma. Mickey Mantle, Jr. succumbed to the disease a few months after his famous father died. Gene Wilder, who lost his wife, Gilda Radner, to ovarian cancer, has been treated for lymphoma, as have Mr. T of “The A-Team” and Paul Allen of Microsoft (Hodgkin’s).

Arte Johnson of “Laugh-In” was treated for lymphoma. Ironically, the same disease took the life of Dan Rowan, also from “Laugh-In.” The list goes on and on.

Lymphoma is really a silent disease, and I think it’s because so many with the disease don’t talk about it.

I’ve tried to think of a reason and the only one I came up with is that the cancer for many of us is not debilitating so we don’t act or appear sick. If we don’t appear sick, then we aren’t being asked a lot of questions.

Another thing I’ve noticed since doing this blog is that lymphoma people appear to be interested only in the blogs that talk about specifics about the disease or things that can help in fighting the disease. Again, I’m basing this on the responses to the blogs. Clearly, people aren’t interested in hearing about anything personal, like vacations or things to do for relaxation, which makes it hard to write several blogs a week.


By: Diane Fallon

Check Out the Related Article : What is Leukemia?

Statistic data on Leukemia

Leukemia is the blood cancer form and originates in a malfunctioning bone marrow that tends to produce abnormal red and white cells in an increased rate. The most important four types of Leukemia are the acute and chronic myelogenous leukemia and the acute and chronic lymphocytic Leukemia. The name of the condition stands for the cell type involved.

The acute type of leukemia develops with an increased production of abnormal white cells making the body unable to fight infections; red blood cells and platelets are insufficient and the organism suffers from bruising, bleedings and anemia. Chronic forms of Leukemia are not as aggressive as they give the normal cells time to regenerate.

About 25000 new equal cases of acute and chronic Leukemia appear every ear. Most cases appear in adults and persons over 60 years but the acute lymphocytic Leukemia has an increased rate in children. Annually, about 10000 cases in adults are diagnosed as acute myelogenic Leukemia, 8000 are chronic lymphocytic Leukemia, 500 are chronic myelogenous forms and about 3500 are acute forms of lymphocytic Leukemia. The rest of the cases are unclassified blood cancer types.

All types of Leukemia are most commonly encountered in men than in women. Men subjects cover about 56% of all Leukemia new cases in a year. Americans with European descent seem to be more affected by cancer than those with African origins; about 131000 new cases of cancer are detected in African Americans every year but most of them are not related to blood cancers.

Americans with Indian or Hispanic origins are far more affected by Leukemia than African Americans and about 50% of the cases are encountered in male subjects. Elderly persons are most highly affected inside all populations.
Minority groups like Caucasians are more affected by Leukemia forms than other ethnic groups like Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. European descent children show increased rate of susceptibility compared to African American children.

Most of the new occurred cases of cancer in children below 15 are of Leukemia. About 2500 new cases of acute forms of lymphocytic leukemia are identified in the USA annually and it tends to be the most encountered form of cancer in children. High percents of the cases occur in children aged 3-4 and less in infants or 19 years old patients. In the last 25 years the chance of cure in specialized centers has increased due to new therapy methods.

People over 40 and older persons are more touched by acute myelogenous Leukemia and the secondary Leukemia type found in adults is chronic lymphocytic leukemia.


By: Groshan Fabiola


Check Out the Related Article : Information and Facts about Acute Leukemia

Lymphoma – Treatment for Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymphatic system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is called Hodgkin's disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. It consists of a network of vessels that carry fluid called lymph, similar to the way that the networks of blood vessels carry blood throughout the body. Lymph contains white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes attack a variety of infectious agents as well as many cells in the precancerous stages of development.

Symptoms of Lymphoma

Fevers - which can come and go, this can be accompanied by chills or a feeling of temperature swings (HL, NHL).

Chest Pain: If lymphoma involves the lymphatic tissue of the thymus, the gland located in front of the heart, it may cause chest pain. In addition, an enlarged thymus may press on nearby structures such as the trachea (windpipe) or superior vena cava (SVC), the large vein that carries blood from the head and arms back to the heart.

Coughing, respiratory difficulties in general, and shortness of breath can all be experienced if tissue is affected in the chest cavity. This puts pressure on the trachea at times causing the symptoms.

Itching - itching without an apparent cause or rash, sometimes deep in the skin rather than on the surface, sometimes on different parts of the body.

The enlarged lymph node sometimes causes other symptoms by pressing against a vein or lymphatic vessel (swelling of an arm or leg), a nerve (pain, numbness, or tingling), or the stomach (early feeling of fullness).

Trachea: Pressure on the trachea can lead to coughing, fatigue, shortness of breath, and other respiratory difficulties. Pressure on the superior vena cava may produce SVC syndrome, a swelling of the head and arms. SVC syndrome involving the brain can be fatal and must be treated immediately. But enlarged lymphatic tissue in the chest cavity generally tends to displace - rather than press upon or encase- adjacent structures.

Treatment for Lymphoma

Chemotherapy: Doctors use a combination of drugs — given orally or by injection — against fast-growing cancer cells. This combined treatment approach is used for intermediate- and high-grade lymphomas and advanced stages of low-grade lymphomas. A single drug may be used if you have a low-grade type of the disease.

Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma usually comes from a machine outside the body, called external-beam radiation therapy. Radiation given to the brain is called cranial irradiation. Radiation therapy may be used alone but more often is given in addition to chemotherapy especially for Hodgkin's disease.

Biological Therapy: Biological therapy, also called immunotherapy, is a form of treatment that uses the body's immune system, either directly or indirectly, to fight cancer or to lessen the side effects that can be caused by some cancer treatments. It uses materials made by the body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct or restore the body's natural defenses against disease. Biological therapy is sometimes called biological response modifier (BRM) therapy.

Surgery: Surgery plays little role in the treatment of HD, and it rarely is used as a therapeutic option for NHL. For some lymphomas that arise in organs outside of the lymph nodes (extranodal) such as the thyroid or stomach, surgical resection (cutting away) of the tumor may be considered. However, surgery is associated with complications such as adhesions (abnormal "joining" of organs and tissues by fiber-like bands), nerve injury, and cosmetic effects, and it does not prevent tumor regret.


By: Peter Hutch

Check Out the Related Article : Information and Facts about Acute Leukemia

What is Leukemia?

Today, one of the most dangerous and incurable condition seems to be cancer. It has no actual cure for mostly of the tissues it affects, especially when it reaches vital organs such as heart, lungs or blood. The blood tissue form of cancer is known as Leukemia and it represents a real life threat as it affects the blood circulation meant to supply the whole body with vital nutriments.

Blood is the connection tissue for all of the body’s organs and tissue as it carries oxygen and other important elements for the cell life. This is the reason why leukemia is such dangerous and frightening disease. Blood has access to all vital organs like heart, lungs and brain and when Leukemia occurs, it will rapidly create a dysfunction of all the other organs by supplying them with unhealthy particles. Cancerous cells are quickly carried to all parts of the organism and the dissemination occurs in a very short period of time.

Leukemia is in fact the consequence of an abnormality occurred in the form and number of leukocytes, the blood white cells. Leucocytes are vital for the good functioning of the body as they have the role to fight against all potential aggressions from the outside. They are the key to a good protection against infections and when leukemia appears the cellular immunity decreases drastically leaving the body unable to protect against damaging factors of any nature.

The main pathological way of the disease is an increased production by the marrow of infected and abnormal white blood cells. The new leucocytes anatomically and functionally modified and interfere with all functions of the blood even hindering the normal oxygen transport. Modified white blood cells also damage the normal functioning of the red blood cells and lead to the occurrence of anemia. Cancerous cells impede the tissue supply with hemoglobin and the body cells suffer from the lack of iron.

When the cancerous cells reach the brain, other dangerous modifications appear such as headaches, night sweats and neuropsychical problems. Cancerous Leukemia cells can be easily detected under the microscope and the suspects of the disease are advised to undergo a bone marrow examination. The onset of Leukemia is pointed out by swollen lymph nodes through the whole body, especially around the neck and thigh.

Risk factors for Leukemia are especially radioactive radiations that produce cell mutations and damages to their activity. An overexposure to benzene, an industrial hydrocarbure, also increases the risk of developing Leukemia, as well as the Down syndrome.

The most effective but also painful treatment is chemotherapy when the patients need to swallow many drugs at once. Another possibility of treatment is radiotherapy and patients suffer from losing hair and skin texture.

Leukemia is curable if detected in time and treated right. A bone marrow transplant may be helpful to regain healthy white blood cells. For a good outcome, the patients especially need the support of the family.


By: Groshan Fabiola


Check Out the Related Article : Information and Facts about Acute Leukemia

Leukemia

Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells. It is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of developing bone marrow cells. It is not a single disease, but a group of malignancies in which the bone marrow and blood-forming organs produce excessive numbers of white blood cells. White blood cells develop from a type of cell in the bone marrow called a stem cell. When the process of white cell maturation goes awry, leukemia results. Immature white cells prevent the normal production of all blood cells, including white blood cells, which fight infection..

Signs and Symptoms

wo general categories of leukemia are acute and chronic. In acute leukemia, symptoms appear quickly and worsen quickly. This form of leukemia may develop over a short period of days to weeks. Abnormal white blood cells may collect in the brain or spinal cord. The result may be headaches, vomiting, confusion, loss of muscle control and difficulty seeing. Some patients develop sores in the eyes or unusual skin rashes.
• Fatigue
• Malaise (vague feeling of bodily discomfort)
• Abnormal bleeding
• Excessive bruising
• Weakness
• Reduced exercise tolerance
• Weight loss
• Bone or joint pain
• Infection and fever

Causes of leukemia
It causes damage to the bone marrow, by displacing the normal bone marrow cells with a huge number of immature white blood cells resulting in a lack of blood platelets that are important in the process of blood clotting. This means people with leukemia when bruised will bleed excessively, or develop pinprick bleeds. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for leukemia. Chemicals in tobacco smoke include benzene, polonium-210, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) are absorbed by the lungs and are spread via the bloodstream.

. Radiation– A high risk of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is caused among people who have been exposed to high doses of radiation.

. Chemicals–Workers who are exposed to benzene are prone to having acute leukemia. If exposed to some other solvents, herbicides, and pesticides can also cause this deadly disease.
• Having human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1)
• Having myelodysplastic syndrome.

Treatment
The goal in treating leukemia is to achieve complete remission (all signs and symptoms of leukemia have disappeared, although there still may be cancer in the body) by destroying cancerous cells so that normal cells can again grow in the bone marrow. In remission, cancerous cells cannot be seen in the blood or bone marrow, but more therapy is needed to achieve a cure. Several areas of research have yielded new approaches to treating leukemia.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
Many different chemotherapeutic plans are available for the treatment of AML. Overall, the strategy is to control bone marrow and systemic (whole-body) disease while offering specific treatment for the central nervous system (CNS), if involved. In general, most oncologists rely on combinations of drugs for the initial, induction phase of chemotherapy.

• injection with colony-stimulating factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which may help to shorten the period of granulocytopenia that results from induction therapy;

• Transfusions with red blood cells and platelets.


By: john parker2

Check Out the Related Article : Leukemia FAQs

Scientific Explanations for the Differentiated Results of Leukemia Treatments

Leukemia is a malignant disease that originates at the level of the bone marrow. The disease is characterized by an impaired production of blood cells. Leukemia refers to incomplete development of white blood cells, which accumulate at the level of the marrow and inside the bloodstream. The dysfunctional cells multiply at abnormally fast rates, eventually outnumbering their normal, healthy counterparts. Unlike normal cells, replica cells are incomplete and they can’t fulfill their role inside the organism. Furthermore, they affect the body’s production of normal cells, triggering a decrease in the number of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

There are various types of leukemia, each of them following different patterns of progression. Leukemia is also categorized according to the type of blood cells involved in causing the disease. Judging by the type of cells responsible for causing the cancer, leukemia can be myelogenous or lymphocytic. According to the pattern and the rate of evolution of the cancer, leukemia can be either acute or chronic. Acute leukemia has a rapid rate of progression, while chronic leukemia evolves slowly.

The treatment for leukemia involves a series of cancer therapies and prolonged courses of cancer medications. Considering the fact that there is no cure for leukemia in present, the results of the available treatments are fluctuant. Patients’ responsiveness to leukemia treatments and therapies are strongly influenced by age, sex, the type of leukemia, and the promptitude of medical intervention. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment considerably increase the chances of complete recovery.

An interesting aspect of leukemia is that it predominantly affects Caucasian people. Although the disease can occur among people belonging to any ethnical group, leukemia is more common in white people. Furthermore, the complete remission of leukemia is strongly influenced by race. Although leukemia is less likely to occur in non-Caucasians, this category of people is by far less responsive to cancer treatment. Recent studies in the field indicate that non-whites are six times less likely to recover completely after the treatment of leukemia.

These facts suggest that genetic factors have a great contribution to the occurrence and the progression of leukemia. In addition, genetic factors strongly influence patients’ responsiveness to treatment. In order to detect the exact genetic factors responsible for generating differentiated reactions to the treatment of leukemia, medical scientists have conducted various elaborate studies in the last decade.

Medical scientists have discovered that patients with acute myelogenous leukemia who present cytogenic abnormalities tend to respond a lot better to treatment than patients who don’t have these genetic abnormalities. The category of patients with certain cytogenic abnormalities is more likely to achieve complete remission after completing the treatment of leukemia. These abnormalities are very common in white people, thus explaining the racial-differentiated results of cancer treatments and therapies. Medical scientists have linked low responsiveness to leukemia treatments with the presence of 8-21 cytogenic translocation in patients or the absence of any genetic abnormalities. Patients who present the so called inverse 16 cytogenic translocation generally respond a lot better to the treatment of leukemia.

Medical scientists sustain that these findings will not determine pronounced changes in the treatment of leukemia. However, they explain that people with low-responsiveness to common forms of treatment should receive combination treatments in order to achieve complete remission. Scientists believe that in future people diagnosed with leukemia will receive personalized treatments, according to their age, sex and ethnicity.


By Groshan Fabiola


Check Out the Related Article : Leukemia FAQs