The lymphatic system includes the lymph nodes and related organs that are part of the body's immune and blood-forming systems. The lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped organs located in the neck, underarm, groin, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Lymph nodes make and store infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. They are connected throughout the body by lymph vessels that carry lymphatic fluid containing the lymphocytes.
Cancers of the lymph system (lymphomas) are divided into Hodgkin's disease (HD) and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. As the cancer cells in HD grow, they can compress, invade, and destroy normal tissue and spread to other tissues either through the lymph system or the bloodstream.
The American Cancer Society has estimated that about 7,400 new cases of HD will be diagnosed in the year 2000. It tends to affect men more often than women. Hodgkin's disease can occur at any age, even in childhood, although there are two periods in which it is more common: between the ages of 15 and 24, and after age 55.
HD is potentially curable even in late stages. Current treatment regimens have achieved long-term disease-free survival in 70-90% of persons with advanced-stage disease and 85-100% of persons with localized disease.
The Medifocus Guide on Hodgkin's Disease provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of Hodgkin's disease?
Are there any recognized risk factors for developing Hodgkin's disease?
What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease?
What is the current standard of care for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease?
What treatment options are available for the management of Hodgkin's disease?
Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?
Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in Hodgkin's disease?
Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for Hodgkin's disease?
What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about Hodgkin's disease?
What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Human immunodeficiency virus-associated Hodgkin's disease. Seminars in Oncology. 2000
Current treatment of Hodgkin's disease. Critical Reviews in Oncology-Hematology. 2000
The contemporary use of radiation therapy in the management of lymphoma. Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America. 2000
Evidence-based management of Hodgkin's disease: the role of autologous stem cell transplantation. Cancer Control. 2000
Hodgkin's disease. Cancer Journal From Scientific American. 2000
Interventions for early stage Hodgkin's disease in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [computer file]. 2000
Down syndrome and Hodgkin disease in childhood. Medical & Pediatric Oncology. 2000
Treatment of Hodgkin's disease: results and current concepts of the German Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group. Annals of Oncology. 2000
The molecular and cellular origins of Hodgkin's disease. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2000
MediFocus.com understands that consumers
who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical
information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've
developed the MediFocus Guides...the
most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and
life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus
Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information
about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments;
excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing
on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and
medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing
of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information
about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect
solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical
issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information
that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in
the clinical decision making process. Medifocus:
Medical Information You Can Trust
