Preview

Cancer and the Lymphatic System

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
558 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cancer and the Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is an amazing system of the body which is responsible for cleaning up the messes made by other systems of the body. In doing so, the lymphatic system does several jobs in the body. According to the Cancer Research UK, the lymphatic system is in charge of draining lymphatic fluid back into the bloodstream from the tissues, filters lymph, filters the blood, and fights infections. Unfortunately, as the lymphatic system goes about its regular duties, cancer can appear in the lymph nodes. There are two ways cancer can appear in the lymph nodes of the lymphatic system. Cancer either starts there or spreads from somewhere else. Cancer that starts in the lymph nodes is called lymphoma.There are many types of lymphoma. One type is called Hodgkin’s lymphoma, “formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease” (Staff). In Hodgkin 's lymphoma, cells in the lymphatic system grow abnormally and may spread beyond the lymphatic system. As Hodgkin 's lymphoma progresses, it compromises your body 's ability to fight infection. “Doctors know that most Hodgkin 's lymphoma occurs when an infection-fighting cell called a B cell develops a mutation in its DNA” (Staff). This mutation causes these abnormal, oversized B cells to bunch up in the lymphatic system. Soon, these mutated cancer cells crowd out healthy cells and cause Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hodgkin’s lymphoma can further be broken down into four subtypes: Nodular sclerosis Hodgkin 's lymphoma, Mixed cellularity Hodgkin 's lymphoma, Lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin 's lymphoma, and Lymphocyte-rich classical Hodgkin 's lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a second type of cancer that originates in the lymphatic system. This type of cancer is more common than Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal” (Lymphoma). The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other


Cited: "The Lymphatic System." CancerResearchUK.org. Cancer Research UK, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. "Lymphoma." U.S National Library of Medicine.com. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. "Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)." Marrow.org. National Marrow Donor Program, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Hodgkin 's Lymphoma (Hodgkin 's Disease)." MayoClinic.com. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 09 July 2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Lymphoma Case Study

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages

    I would tell him that it is cancer of the lymphocytes, which leads to an enlargement of the lymph nodes. A patient will usually have a swollen lymph node and its usually painless. To diagnose Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, there must be a biopsy. It is the presence of Reed-Sterngerg cells that differentiate it from non-Hodgkin’s. It is binucleated or multi-nucleated in a background of inflammatory cells. There are no guidelines for preventing Hodgkin’s lymphoma; the cause is unknown or multifactorial.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lymphatic system serves as a conduit for trafficking of lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells to regional lymph nodes, where the immune system encounters pathogens, microbes, and other immune elicitors. Microorganisms and other foreign substances are filtered from lymph by lymph nodes and from blood by the spleen. In addition, lymphocytes and other cells are capable of destroying microorganisms and other foreign substances. Because the lymphatic system fights infections, and filters blood and lymph to remove microorganisms, many infectious diseases produce symptoms associated with the lymphatic…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    HCS 212 wek 4 terms

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cancer is a group of abnormal cells in a certain location or multiple locations of a person’s body.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. This form of cancer starts in cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells, are a part of the body’s immune system. Lymphocytes are carried throughout the body by the lymph nodes and lymph tissue. Lymphoid tissue is made up of several cells that help the body fight infections. (Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, 2015) The combination of B Lymphocytes and T Lymphocytes are in certain organs such as the thymus, adenoids and tonsils, digestive track, bone marrow and as stated before the lymph nodes, and spleen. Because lymphoid tissue is in a considerable amount of the body, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is very deadly.…

    • 1658 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 3 Assignment 1

    • 260 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hodgkin disease is a type of lymphoma. Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system. The first sign of Hodgkin disease is often an enlarged lymph node. The exact cause is unknown. Hodgkin disease is rare. Treatment often includes radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the more effective the treatment. In most cases, Hodgkin disease can be cured.…

    • 260 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    However a healthy lymphatic system on the other hand gives us an excellent chance to avoid viruses, bacterial infections, parasites, respiratory disorders. You are in…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Name the cell-types that define carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, and leukemia’s. Which type is most common?…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hodgkin's Disease

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In our bodies we have an immune system that fights infections and other diseases. The lymphatic system is also a part of the immune system. Hodgkin’s disease is a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. It begins in cells of the immune system. It happens when a lymphocyte (usually a B cell) becomes abnormal, called a Reed-Sternberg cell. The Reed-Sternberg cell divides and makes copies of itself. The division of the new cells continues, making a numerous amount of abnormal cells. The abnormal cells don 't die when they should and they don 't protect the body from infections or other diseases. The extra cells form a tumor.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Lymphatic System

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The diagram to the left shows the Lymphatic system which is a system of connections between organs and tissues. This network aids in the removal of waste and unwanted products from the body. The lymphatic system’s most important function is to transport white blood cells that fight infection called lymph though the body. These white blood cells contain antibodies which are built to detect, destroy and build immunity towards pathogens and infections that enter the body. The lymphatic system consists of lymphatic vessels, lymphatic organs and lymph.…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Carcinogenesis

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The term "cancer" refers to a large group of very different diseases. They have one thing in common: the uncontrolled division of cells of an organ or tissue. These cells do not grow old and die not from spite of many changes in how healthy cells. They disguise themselves so the immune system does not recognize them as ill or injured. It can malignant tumors arise, as in cervical cancer: He is one of the "solid" tumors, as opposed to "systemic" diseases of the blood or bone marrow, in which cancer cells can spread throughout the body from the very beginning.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hodgkin's Disease

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In 1832 Thomas Hodgkin described a progressively fatal condition characterized by enormous lymph node swelling that he believed to be one disease. Characteristic cells involved in this disease were identified microscopically by Sternberg and Reed in 1898 and 1902, respectively. The identification of these cells, now known as Reed-Sternberg cells, allowed for the initial classification of Hodgkin 's disease. In the past two decades advances in histology and immunohistology have revealed that the Reed-Sternberg cell is B-cell lineage, and that Hodgkin 's disease is not a single cell, but instead two separate diseases. Hodgkin 's disease. The four stages of Hodgkin 's disease are based on factors such as location, whether cancer is found in more than one group of lymph nodes, or on one or both sides of the diaphragm. The potential curability of Hodgkin 's disease was first recognized in 1920, when patients with localized tumor with radiation were shown to have a 10% survival rate. By the 1960s about one third of patients were being cured with radiation. In 1970, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported that patients with advanced Hodgkin 's disease could attain complete remission and long-term survival using a combination chemotherapy of nitrogen mustard, Oncavin (vincristine), procarbazine, and prednisone, known as Mopp.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Multiple Myeloma

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The immune system is made up of several types of cells that work together to fight infections. Lymph cells (called lymphocytes) are the main type of cell in the adaptive immune system. There are 2 types of lymph cells: T cells and B cells. When B cells respond to an infection, they change into plasma cells. The plasma cells are found mainly in the bone marrow—the soft, inner part of some bones. The plasma cells make proteins called antibodies that attack and help kill germs. When plasma cells grow out of control, they can form a tumor, usually in the bone marrow. This type of tumor is called a myeloma, and if there are many tumors they are called multiple myeloma. If there is only one tumor, it is called solitary plasmacytoma. In many cases, this single tumor will go on to become multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is characterized by excessive numbers of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow and overproduction of intact monoclonal immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, IgD, or IgE) or Bence-Jones protein (free monoclonal light chains). 1…

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Infectious Disease Nvq

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages

    it is when cancerous cells find their way into the circulatory or lymph systems and travel to other parts of the body. This is then hard to treat once secondary cancer sites develop.…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nursing Career Paper

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cited: Detailed Guide: Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin Type Radiation Therapy. (2007, August 29). Retrieved March 30, 2008, from Cancer Reference Information: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4X_Radiation_Therapy_32.asp?sitearea=…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Breast Cancer Essay

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Breast cancer cells can enter lymphatic vessels and begin to grow in lymph nodes. Most lymphatic vessels in the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm. If the cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes, there is a higher chance that the cells could have also got into the blood stream and spread. The more lymph nodes that have breast cancer, the more likely it is the cancer may be found in other organs as well.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays