One day you probably read about it in the newspaper, “lymphoma cancer”, so what is lymphoma cancer anyway? This cancer is the kind of cancer that related to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of organs, ducts and nodes which job is to transport watery clear fluid called lymph throughout human body. This fluid contains immune cells which is called as lymphocytes and they are our body's defense against viruses, bacteria, etc. When someone have lymphoma cancer, some of the lymphocytes become abnormal by starting to multiply too quick. Eventually, these abnormal cells will gather mainly in lymph nodes and form the tumors.Not much is known about the exact cause of this cancer. Several viral infections are thought to be the culprit, but in most cases, what cause the cancer remains unclear. Lymphoma cancer often attacks people under 20 years of age and in most cases it attacks children. There are two kinds of this cancer namely Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer is much more common to be found in patients. The main difference between the two is in the presence of cells called Reed-Sternberg cells, which can be seen under the microscope.

The treatments for both Hodgkin's and non Hodgkin's lymphoma are similar, involving radiation, chemotherapy and biological therapy. However, the survival rate for people with Hodgkin's lymphoma is bigger than the other type. In fact, Hodgkin's lymphoma is now considered as highly curable disease with about 95% survival rate for young adults below the age of 20 years old.In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the biological characterization of malignant lymphocytes is very diverse. There are over 30 different types of cancer cells in this type and some of them can be rare. This is part of the reason of why it is harder to cure non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Today in the United States, this kind of cancer ranked sixth most common cancer among males and ranked fifth among females.

Symptoms for both type of cancer are similar, one of the most obvious include painless swelling of lymph nodes such as in the neck, underarms, or chest. Other more general symptoms may include weight loss, unexplained fever, itching, rashes, fatigue and night sweats. In addition, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients usually complain about unexplained bone pain and pain in stomach, chest or pelvis area. This complaint is rare in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. With this new understanding of what is lymphoma cancer, hopefully you will become more aware about this disease.

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