There are two types of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, namely, Hodgkin's Disease of the Prostate and Hodgkin's Disease of the Brains. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma affects mostly men, in comparison to women. It is more common among white people. The symptoms and signs of this cancer vary from person to person.
As mentioned earlier, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is mainly seen in older men, especially those who have a family history of the disease, men who live on farms or in rural areas, men who engage in heavy physical activities such as running or other exercises and men who have taken certain drugs including steroids. The most common symptom is a persistent fever that does not subside within a few days.
The most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is the Hodgkin's Disease of the Prostate
This is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which starts in the prostate gland. The most common symptoms are pain on the left side of the body, swelling of the legs, painful urination, pain during intercourse and blood in the urine.
However, the Hodgkin's Disease of the Brains may occur in the brain. The symptoms include weakness, loss of appetite, confusion and depression. The patient may also have problems with speech, swallowing and vision. The signs may be more apparent if you are near the brain when these symptoms occur. A stroke, aneurysm and a malformation in the brain can also be a sign of this type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas have a recurrence rate of about 20% after treatment. The cause of the cancer is unknown. A change in the DNA sequence or a malfunction in the immune system are the main causes.
There are different treatments for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, depending on how advanced the cancer has become. Surgery is the most popular treatment, followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery can be performed in the open or laparoscopic surgery
Surgery is usually performed only if the cancer is very small. There is a small risk that the cancer may recur and if the surgery is done on an already diagnosed tumor, it may spread the cancer to other parts of your body.
Chemotherapy uses medicines that attack the cancer at the source. In the case of chemotherapy, your doctor will inject the medicine into the tumor to destroy it and stop the growth of the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may require several cycles of treatment to kill the cancer cells. In the last treatment, the medicine is sometimes given in combination with radiation therapy to destroy as many healthy cells as possible. It is important that you receive regular checkups after chemotherapy, in order to check for side effects and to make sure that your body is healing.
Radiation therapy is used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphomas after surgery. This treatment involves exposure to very high energy beams. It is very expensive and you need to have regular follow ups.
Radiation can damage the surrounding tissue. If you have a high dose of radiation, it can lead to permanent lung damage, heart attacks and cancer of the bone marrow. Some radiation treatments may even kill your healthy cells.
With radiation therapy, your doctor will do scans and give you a prognosis. Your doctor may recommend a course of treatment or not. He or she may recommend either surgery or chemotherapy or another treatment, which might include some combination of both. The best prognosis depends on the stage of the cancer.
You should discuss all your treatment options with your doctor. You can ask for advice from him or her about whether or not you should opt for surgery or chemotherapy. It is important that you discuss the pros and cons of each treatment option. You may also want to research on your own and talk to your family doctor or a little.