Good news! This is one of the most curable forms of cancer!
Nick's disease is 73% curable. Those odds were diagnosed for him by his doctor.
This disease results from an injury to the DNA of a lymphocyte. The damage to the DNA is acquired (occurs after birth) rather than inherited. The altered DNA in the lymphocyte produces a canceruous change that-if untreated- results in teh uncontrolled growth of the cancerous lymphocytes. The accumulation of the cancerous lymphocytes results in the tumor masses that are found in the lymph nodes and other sites in the body.
Hodgkin lymphoma is most likely to be diagnosed in people in their twenties or early thirties.
The most common signs of hodgkin lymphoma is a painless swelling of one or more lymph nodes, usually in the neck or upper chest. Sometimes the affected lymph node is in the armpit, abdomen or groin.
Other signs include fever, sweating, especially at night, weight loss and itching.
There are 4 stages:
Stage 1: Apparent involvement of a single lymph node region or a single organ, such as bone
Stage 2: Involvement of two or three lymph node regions that are close to each other; for example. all in the nexk and chest, or all in the abdomen and on the same side of the diaphragm.
Stage 3: Involvement of several lymph node regions in the nexk, chest and abdomen.
Stage 4: Widespread involvement of lymph nodes on both sides of the diaphragm and other organs, such as the lungs, liver and bones.
Nick is a stage 4B, he has activity in his neck, chest, armpit, groin, abdomen, pelvis and bone marrow. "B" means that he had excessive sweating and weight loss.
Here and here are a few places you can go to learn more about hodgkin lymphoma
