Thursday, March 13, 2008
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.
What Exactly is Lymphoma?
Lymphoma is not a single disease, it is in fact a group of diseases in which the cells of the immune system become cancerous and begin to divide and multiply in an uncontrolled manner in a lymph node. Initially a single lymph node may be affected however the cancer may quickly spread around the body through the lymphatic system so that other nodes and also other tissues, such as the bone marrow, become affected.
A number of the immune system cell types can become cancerous including the T cells and the B cells which are the body’s two main defense mechanisms against illness and infection. The immune system cells are carried in the blood stream and through the lymphatic system and so the lymphoma cancers can be very mobile and affect areas of the body far from the original cancerous site.
The fact that you have swollen lymph glands does not automatically mean you have a lymphoma cancer because there are a number of other diseases which cause the lymph nodes to swell; in fact any disease which requires the assistance of the immune system will cause mild swelling in many of the lymph glands. If however you have swelling in a single gland that is painless and symptom free then you should make an appointment with your doctor just to check it out.
There are various types of lymphoma cancer however the two main types are Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Hodgkin’s disease is characterized by painless enlargement of one or more lymph nodes, most commonly in the chest, neck and armpits. If the caner has spread from these initial sites then fevers, night sweats, weight loss and bone pain can also occur. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is the more common disease of the two, may start in exactly the same way however the patient may also develop an enlarged spleen, anemia and general malaise.
Because the lymphoma cancers are so mobile a sufferer can often experience symptoms in other areas of the body that they would not necessarily associate with cancer which means that unless you know what to look for i.e. swollen lymph glands, you may well dismiss the problem as being due to a simple illness, such as the flu, as this also causes many of the symptoms displayed by lymphoma patients. Also, because the cells of the immune system are primarily affected a person with a lymphoma cancer will quickly become more susceptible than usual to even the weakest pathogens i.e. their immune system becomes weaker and fails to protect the body from disease.
The good news is that as with other forms of cancer, lymphomas are treatable and so anyone diagnosed shouldn’t give up hope of leading a long and healthy life. You need to find out as much information as you can about the illness and find coping strategies that work for you and your family. You will need to undergo either chemotherapy, radiation therapy or possibly a bone marrow transplant however lymphoma patients today have a high survival rate and many people are cured of the disease totally.
Who Does Lymphoma Affect?
Lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects a specific type of cell called the lymphocytes. These tiny but incredibly important cells are classed as cells of the immune system and so when they begin to mutate and become cancerous the immune response to infections, for example bacteria and viruses, is severely affected. As with all other forms of cancer, lymphoma can strike anyone at any time and because it doesn’t exhibit any obvious outward symptoms, many sufferers don’t realise they have developed the disease until it has already reached the later stages.
In terms of age there are two major age groups that are especially prone to lymphoma. These are 25-35 years of age and the over 60s. It is possible that the over 60s have naturally weaker immune systems because their body cells have had to defend from infection for so long. This means that when mutated cells do occur, and they do often occur within the body, the immune system is no longer able to eradicate them and they are able to multiply and develop into cancer. This is especially worrying when the cells that are mutated are in fact cells of the immune system i.e. the lymphocytes. Surprisingly, research into confirmed cases of lymphoma has shown that 25-35 year olds are also at higher risk of developing the disease. Nobody is sure why this is so at the current time and further research into the mechanisms of lymphoma development is needed to make the link.
In terms of gender, research has shown that men are around three times more likely than women to be diagnosed with lymphoma. Again why this should be so is still not known with any certainty however there are a number of thoughts which could explain the bias. For example, some scientists think that the female hormones may provide protection from the disease because as women age and the level of hormones within the body decreases, the probability of them developing lymphoma starts to equal that of their male counterparts. Alternatively it could be that male hormones somehow make men more susceptible and as men age and their hormone levels decrease they become less prone to the disease. Either way, more research is needed into the risk factors of lymphoma before a definite link can be made.
Lastly, in terms of geographical location it would seem that the Western world i.e. the UK, America, Australia, Germany etc, have much higher incidences of lymphoma than places such as Africa and Asia. This may be related to lifestyle in that a rich lifestyle with fatty food, alcohol, and other luxurious items in addition to the higher concentrations of pollution and other carcinogenic substances may predispose Westerners to lymphoma.
Why some people are affected by lymphoma while others aren’t still remains a mystery however there are many research institutes around the world that are working hard to find the answers. If you fall into either of the age ranges mentioned above and especially if you are male then you should stay vigilant and check you lymph gland regularly for any signs of swelling.
