The term childhood lymphoma refers to cancers that originate in the body’s lymphatic tissues during childhood and include the lymph nodes, thymus, spleen, tonsils, adenoids, and bone marrow, as well as the lymph vessels that attach them. Although there are many types of cancer that eventually spread to parts of the lymphatic system, lymphomas are distinctive because they originate there. Statistics report that there are about 1,700 children below 20 years of age who are diagnosed with lymphoma each year in the United States. Childhood lymphomas are divided into two basic categories, Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, based on the appearance of their cancerous cells, and is the third most common type of cancer in children.

Some of the children have other nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, poor appetite, itching, or hives. They also show symptoms such as unexplained fever, night sweats, and weight loss.

In the United States, there are nearly 500 new cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma detected each year in children. This disease occurs generally after 3 years of age in children. NHL is more common than Hodgkin’s disease in children younger than 15 years of age.

Although there are no lifestyle factors that have been definitely linked to childhood lymphomas, children who have received either chemotherapy or radiation treatments for other types of cancer are at a greater risk of developing lymphoma. The first important step in the diagnosis of the enlarged lymph node is a biopsy that involves the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the body.

Treatment of childhood lymphoma is largely determined by staging, a way to classify patients as per the spread of the disease at the time of diagnosis.

There are four stages of lymphoma, ranging from Stage I to Stage IV. This stage at diagnosis guides medical professionals deciding the type of therapy and helps doctors in prognosis. Treatment involves radiation, chemotherapy or both, depending on the type and stage of the cancer as well as the age and health of the child.

e-Lymphoma.com Lymphoma provides detailed information on Lymphoma, Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, Hodgkins Lymphoma, Lymphoma Symptoms and more. Lymphoma is affiliated with i-BreastCancer.com Breast Cancer Symptoms.

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Tags: breast cancer, chemotherapy, lymphoma

We have all had friends get diagnosed with cancer. These are often friends who have lived the healthiest possible life, eating nothing but the best quality foods. We are talking about non-smoking, regularly exercising people who have lived the perfectly healthy lifestyle. Why did they get cancer?

The truth is that almost all cancers are caused by some genetic switch or another inside of us that flips on or off. Whether or not this occurs does depend to some degree on what we expose ourselves to, whether that be cigarette smoke, over exposure to the sun or some type of food additive. This is very over-simplified, but science is advancing rapidly and in the next five to ten years we may know exactly what the risk will be for any given environmental vice that we choose to engage in.

Until then, we do have knowledge about what kind of cancer we are most likely to come down with, and how effective cancer screening is against some of these. The point is that you have the power to take control and minimize the risk of cancer happening to you !!

The most common types of cancer in women living in the United States are:

breast (213,000 new cases, 40,970 deaths per year, with a 1 in 34 lifetime risk of dying from it),
lung (81,770 new cases, 72,130 deaths per year, with a 1 in 20 lifetime risk of dying from it),
colorectal (75,810 new cases, 27,300 deaths per year, with a 1 in 45 lifetime risk of dying from it),
endometrial (41,200 new cases, 7,350 deaths per year, with a 1 in 196 lifetime risk of dying from it),
skin (30,420 new cases, 3,720 deaths per year, with a 1 in 500 lifetime risk of dying from it),
ovarian (20,180 new cases, 15,310 deaths per year, with 1 in 95 lifetime risk of dying from it),
cervical (9,710 new cases, 3,700 deaths from year, with 1 in 385 lifetime risk of dying from it).

In general, in addition to taking care of yourself, a yearly examination with screening for cancer or precancerous conditions is highly recommended. Unfortunately, the cancers for which there are no effective screening tools are: endometrial, lung and ovarian.

The good news is that endometrial cancer tends to show itself early by abnormal bleeding, usually postmenopausal, which leads to a high cure rate. The additional good news for preventing endometrial cancer is that the vast majority occur in people who are overweight. So, paying attention to symptoms and keeping your weight in the normal range go a long way towards preventing endometrial cancer. Also, if you are taking estrogen, make sure you discuss the risk vs. the benefit with your physician.

Lung cancer is most often associated with smoking. Screening techniques have been ineffective in reducing mortality. Enough said. You know what to do for this one.

Ovarian cancer is a silent killer with no early symptoms and no reliable way to screen for it; at least not yet. There may be a blood test that is on the horizon that will change that in the near future. However, for today, the tests popularized in the lay literature as screening tools, particularly CA-125, are simply not effective. The best strategy is to pay close attention to persistent symptoms of increased bloating, indigestion, unexplained weight loss, pressure, abdominal or pelvic pain, or other intestinal symptoms. Having said that, these kind of symptoms are far more likely to be caused by something other than ovarian cancer, so don’t panic. Just be vigilant if these symptoms don’t go away. Also, although there are genetically predisposed women who get ovarian cancer in their reproductive years, the vast majority of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in the post-menopausal years. If you do have first degree relatives who have come down with breast or ovarian cancer, seek genetic counseling. Testing may be recommended.

Screening options do exist for cancers of the skin, cervix, colon-rectum and breast.

Women over the age of 40 should get mammograms every 1 to 2 years, and yearly after age 50. In addition, ask for a breast exam during your annual physical. Finally, although breast self-examination has not been proven to be effective, there is enough medical information to consider doing it regularly. You know your body best and may detect a lump earlier than anyone else. Finally, as far as preventive measures, a low fat diet , which you religiously adhere to may reduce your risk, especially if you have been on a high fat diet. Being overweight definitely increases your risk of cancer.

There has been a lot of press lately regarding cervical cancer screening. The best news here is that the combination of Pap smear and HPV testing is highly effective in detecting PRE-cancerous conditions of the cervix. This means that treatment can be effective very early and relatively non-invasive since the treatment is for pre-cancer rather than cancer. The recommendations are rather complex, vary with age and the details can be found on the American Cancer Society website. However, in general, make sure you are getting this combined test at least every 3 years.

After age 50, there are several options for colo-rectal cancer screening. Similar to cervical cancer screening, the most effective situation is detection of pre-cancerous polyps, but early cancer detection is also life-saving. The options include yearly testing of patient collected stool samples, sigmoidoscopy (examining the lower part of the colon) every 5 years, a special kind of x-ray study called a double-contrast barium enema every 5 years or colonoscopy (looking at the entire colon) every 10 years. Discuss these options with your doctor to determine what might work best for you.

Finally, especially if you are a sun-worshiper, ask your doctor to look at every inch of your body for signs of precancerous or cancerous skin changes. Make sure you use sun protection lotions which have a SPF (sun protection factor) rating of at least 15. Your risk will depend upon what type of skin you have, but these days you should pay attention to what the reported UV Index is wherever you live. This is a measure of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet radiation you are exposed to on any given day when you go outside.

It’s your life. Make sure you’re looking out for number one!

Steven A. Vasilev MD, FACOG, FACS is a fellowship trained and board certified gynecologic oncologist, which means he is specially trained and certified to take care of women with gynecologic cancers using a broad spectrum of skills. He has practiced at academic as well as private centers, has been on the faculty of three universities and continues to be involved in research and education. You can visit gyncancerdoctor.com gyncancerdoctor.com to learn more about screening, prevention and treatment of gynecologic cancers.

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Tags: cervical cancer, gynecologic cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer

Genetic alterations are key factors in breast carcinogenesis. However, it is not fully understood what causes the genetic damage. Is it the woman’s environment or her life that does the damage? Or is it hormones? If so, is it her own, or the ones she takes? Or is it toxic chemicals or a virus or radiation that causes these alterations? If it were possible to identify the causes and block or eliminate them, it wouldn’t matter quite as much which genes were being altered.

A good example is lung cancer. It is well known that cigarette smoking triggers the disease, so it must cause the genetic alterations. Thus, it is less crucial to find out what the alterations are, because it is not necessary to neutralize the causative genetic alterations. People can just be told to stay away from cigarette smoke and, if they do so, that will tremendously reduce the risk of lung cancer. So in the case of breast cancer, thinks like diet, alcohol consumption, hormone replacement, pesticides in the environment and electromagnetic waves are currently being studied to find carcinogens, but so far, none has been found equivalent to smoke in lung cancer. Both the environmentalists and the basic researchers are right, at least to an extent. You can’t simply say, “Toxic chemicals are the cause of cancer”. Alone, they are not. Many people are exposed to environmental toxicants such as pesticides and never develop cancer. But on the other hand, you can’t also simply say, “All cancers are genetic, environmental contaminants are irrelevant”. It is the interaction between genes and the environment that will, in the end, explain cancer.

Another important aspect of breast cancer genetics are very important genes called tumor suppressor genes. These genes tamper with oncogenes (genes that have mutated) and proto-oncogenes (normal, non-mutated genes). These genes serve as breaks for the cell cycle system. While there are some genes that push the cells to grow and divide, tumor suppressor genes function in reverse to this. Sometimes, this happens because the cell is defective; in which case the tumor suppressor gene signals the cell to stop replicating or, in some instances, causes the cell to undergo a programmed type of death, known as apoptosis.

The tumor suppressor gene, p53, keeps cells with DNA mutation from dividing. It is believed that BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, which are breast cancer genes, are actually tumor suppressor genes normally functioning as DNA repair molecules. Since these genes maintain the balance in the cell cycle system, mutations or loss of function could be disastrous for the cell.

In most cancers, there is not just one but several mutations. One of the more important questions is whether the mutations come in sequentially. Will one develop breast cancer is she has the oncogene Her-2/neu mutation initially, followed by alteration of the tumor suppressor gene p53, but not if the p53 mutates first? There is still so much to be discovered with regard to the genetic causes of breast cancer. We don’t have the answers yet, but we are definitely on the verge of solving the mystery.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

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Tags: breast cancer, lung cancer, oncogenes

The prostate gland has a reputation as a health destroyer. Hypertrophy of the prostate gland, which affects nearly every elderly male, strangles the urethra. This troublesome condition makes urination difficult and increases the risk of bladder infections and kidney damage.

However, there are many good foods that may already be a part of your everyday diet that can help thwart the onset of prostate problems.

Tomatoes, watermelons, red grapefruit, papaya and red berries are all great sources of lycopene, a health-promoting plant pigment known for its cancer-battling ability. It also promotes a strong immune system and helps support prostate health in men.

Though fresh are always an excellent option, the lycopene in cooked tomatoes is actually absorbed more readily by the body. It is also your ally in the battle against heart disease.

Quercetin, a flavonoid that forms the backbone of many other flavonoids, may have positive effects in combating or helping to prevent many different types of cancer, including prostate. It also acts as an antihistamine and has anti-inflammatory properties, which may be helpful in relieving the pain of an inflamed prostate.

Foods rich in quercetin include apples, black and green tea, onions, raspberries, red wine, red grapes, citrus fruits, broccoli and other leafy green vegetables, and cherries. Quercetin can also be found in honey and sap, including the type from eucalyptus and tea tree flowers.

It is vital to remember to get a healthy balance of foods to keep your prostate healthy, including antioxidants, vitamin E from nuts and seeds, and drink plenty of clear fluids to help flush the bladder.

Try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods. Keeping your weight in check will also help maintain a healthy prostate.

Alex Fir shares a wealth of information on his website cancer-data.com/blog/ Prostate Cancer Information. To read more about cancer-data.com/blog/149/preventing-prostate-cancer/ prostate cancer prevention visit his site right now.

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