Part of the body that helps fight off germs is known as the lymphatic system. This system starts with lymph nodes placed throughout the body. They are connected and linked with the effects of the spleen, bone marrow and thymus gland. Cancer can seemingly affect every part of the body. When it affects the lymphatic system, it’s known as lymphoma.
There are many different types of lymphoma. In fact, there are so many types of lymphoma that it can get confusing. What follows are some of the most common types of lymphoma that can potentially be acquired. There are actually even more than those listed, but these are common. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma are the basis of lymphoma, with subtypes going from there.
This is the most common form of lymphoma that people may see. People may have swollen lymph nodes, swelling and pain in the abdomen, fatigue, fever, unexplained weight loss, chest pain, night sweats, coughing and trouble breathing. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma can possibly start in both a person’s B cells and their T cells. Like other cancers, it has four different phases, escalating in how dangerous it is. Typically, cancer stages are based on how much the cancer has spread throughout the body, and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is no exception.
This form of lymphoma is one of the sub-types of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This type starts originally in the white blood cells of the body’s immune system. It’s also more common as people age. Typically, the average age of people who get follicular lymphoma is around 60 years of age. It’s not one of the more aggressive forms of lymphoma. It comes on slowly and treatment is usually reflective of this.
This form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is very aggressive. It grows quickly inside of the B cells located in the bloodstream. Specifically, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most aggressive form. If people leave this untreated, then it’s very possible for the results to be fatal. When discovered early, it’s often possible to have full treatment and removal of this form of cancer.
This form of lymphoma used to be simple called “Hodgkin’s Disease”. The difference between Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is which type of cells are is affected. But beyond that, there is an extra cell visible in Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the sub types. This is called the reed-sternberg cell. It can actually be identified under microscopic inspection, making judgement easier. This form is often diagnosed very early! It’s considered to arguably be the most treatable of cancers due to this fact. The survival rate for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is around 90 percent when it’s detected early in stage I. When detected in stage 4, the 5 year survival rate falls to closer to 65%.
This is one of the most common types of lymphoma under the Hodgkin’s Lymphoma branch of subsets. This type of lymphoma tends to target young adults more than any other group. This form of lymphoma will start in lymph nodes that specifically have scar tissue within them. This form of lymphoma has an excellent cure rate and can be treated in many successful ways.
