Cure for Lymphoma

Have you ever felt a painful bean shaped mass under your armpit or somewhere whenever you have a fever or wound? That's most probably an enlarged lymph node.

Lymph nodes are specialized organs of the body that process infectious agents such as bacteria and virus. Whenever a lymph node increases size, it is palpable and feels like a mass. Other areas where enlarged lymph nodes can be felt are at the neck, under the jaw and chin, and back of the head.

When there is an infectious process, the lymph nodes try to ward it off from spreading, but when the infection overwhelms it, the lymph node itself becomes inflamed and increases in size a condition called lymphadenitis.

Lymph nodes become enlarged not only during infection but also when its cells transform cancer. Cancer of the lymph node is called lymphoma. Lymphoma can develop anywhere in the body where lymph nodes are distributed. Lymphomas can be seen and felt under the skin because there are numerous minute lymph nodes under the skin.

Tonsils are lymph nodes. Hence, an enlarged tonsil can either be an inflammation called tonsillitis or cancer like lymphoma. Lymphoma can also occur deep inside the body such as in the lymph tissues of the thymus, stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, bone marrow and brain.

How can you differentiate infection from cancerous process in an enlarged lymph node?

An enlarged lymph node due to infection is soft or doughy, and painful even at early onset. Fever may occur and is always accompanied by an obvious infection.

An enlarged lymph node due to cancer progressively enlarges and affects other lymph nodes. It is hard and not painful at early onset, but becomes painful when it is quite large, immovable, and pressing a nerve. Lymphoma or cancer may also be accompanied by fever, as well as unexplained weight loss of at least 10 percent over a short period of time, lack of energy, general fatigue, and drenching night sweats.

Consult your physician if you are afraid that your "kulani is a lymphoma. Your physician will look for the cause of the enlarged lymph node. If it is infection, infection control and antibiotic will be administered. Otherwise, he will refer you to a surgeon who will get a biopsy sample of the enlarged lymph node for pathology analysis.

Unlike other forms of cancer, lymphoma is very responsive to treatment. The primary treatment surgery is drugs, with radiotherapy adjunct. Responsiveness to drug treatment is somehow dictated by the histological and immunological type of the lymphoma, which would also dictate which of the cytotoxic drugs, so patients whi are suffering from this should not worry because it's very uch treatable with todays advances in medicine.