What is Hodgkin's?

Hodgkin's Disease (HD) is a kind of cancer. It is a malignant growth of cells in the lymph system. Hodgkin's Disease is not the only kind of lymphoma. But other forms of lymphoma are often grouped together and are called "Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas." As my own case indicates, Hodgkin's can occur in children or adults.   It is more common in early adulthood (ages 15-40, usually around 25-30) and late adulthood (after 55) than it is in the years between. It is relatively rare in children under 5.   About 10% of cases are diagnosed in children younger than 16 years. For diagnosis and treatment purposes, HD categorized into one of four stages.

  • Stage I: This will involve one lymph node region, e.g. the neck or the chest
  • Stage II: This will involve two or more lymph node regions, all on the same side of the diaphragm
  • Stage III: This will involve lymph nodes on appearing on both sides of the diaphragm
  • Stage IV: This will involve organs beyond the lymph system, for example the spleen, liver, or bone marrow.

Hodgkin's can be "Recurrent." As in my case, this means that you have had the disease once and it has returned. In my case, it has recurred twice. Thus, I have 3 occurrences. Hodgkin's can also be "Progressive." This means that the disease continues to advance even during treatment. Hodgkin's will have an alphabetic designation following the Stage designation. An "A" means that the disease is showing no physical manifestations (symptoms) other than perhaps enlarged lymph nodes. A "B" means that the disease is showing physical manifestations (symptoms.) Some potential symptoms of Hodgkin's are swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, unexplained weight loss, lack of energy, deep tissue itching and sometimes lower back pain. Many instances of Hodgkin's show no physical symptoms. If a doctor says you have just a cyst, get it checked out, anyway. There are 4 classical and one non-classical forms of HD. They are as follows: Nodular sclerosis (NS). NS accounts for 60-70% of Hodgkin's cases. Lymphocyte predominance (LP). LP accounts for 5% of Hodgkin's cases. Mixed cellularity (MC). MC accounts for 20-30% of Hodgkin's cases. Lymphocyte depleted (LD). LD accounts for about 5% of Hodgkin's cases. Nodular lymphocyte predominant (NLP) This is a relatively rare form of HD. It is considered to be a non-classical form of HD. It is the form that I have and I have found it to be somewhat slower growing than the classical forms of HD. Generally, doctors watch a HD patient closely, especially during the first 5 years after the cancer has gone into remission. This is because the longer the remission, the less likelihood of recurrence. Late recurrences (occurrences happening after 5 years) are relatively rare. Very Late Recurrences (occurrences happening after 10 years) are even rarer still. In my case, I had a Very, Very Late Recurrence. (So, hooray for statistical anomalies.)

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There are 4 classical and one non-classical forms
of HD. They are as follows:

  • Nodular sclerosis(NS)
    NS accounts for 60-70% of Hodgkin's cases.
  • Lymphocyte predominance (LP).
    LP accounts for 5% of Hodgkin's cases.
  • Mixed Cellularity (MC)
    MC accounts for 20-30% of Hodgkin's cases.
  • Lymphocyte depleted (LD)
    LD accounts for about 5% of Hodgkin's cases.
Non-Classical Variant:
  • Nodular lymphocyte predominant (NLP) Hodgkin's lymphoma

    Typical Reed-Sternberg cells arerare; instead variants called L & H cells (colloquially "popcorn cells") are present. Often recurrent. Sometimes treated as indolent and can be treated for years.

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