Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system that is a vital part of the body's defense mechanism to deal with infections. The two main types of the disease are Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; both diseases require different treatments.
The centers of the lymphatic system are the lymph nodes in the neck, the thymus in the chest, the spleen situated to the left in the abdominal cavity and bone marrow found mainly within the bones of the arms and legs.
The disease involves the abnormal division of the white blood cells known as lymphocytes which collect in a mass at specific sites of the lymphatic system or sometimes occur in the blood stream. As such there are no known causes of lymphoma; it affects both adults and children and the symptoms are often varying like high fever, itchy skin, sweating at night or sudden weight loss. Treatment for lymphoma typically involves chemotherapy and radiation therapy though both types of lymphomas respond differently to treatment.
The centers of the lymphatic system are the lymph nodes in the neck, the thymus in the chest, the spleen situated to the left in the abdominal cavity and bone marrow found mainly within the bones of the arms and legs.
The disease involves the abnormal division of the white blood cells known as lymphocytes which collect in a mass at specific sites of the lymphatic system or sometimes occur in the blood stream. As such there are no known causes of lymphoma; it affects both adults and children and the symptoms are often varying like high fever, itchy skin, sweating at night or sudden weight loss. Treatment for lymphoma typically involves chemotherapy and radiation therapy though both types of lymphomas respond differently to treatment.
