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Lymphoma and myeloma Lymphoma: Lymphoma is a type of cancer involving cells of the immune system, called lymphocytes. Just as cancer represents many different diseases, lymphoma represents many different cancers of lymphocytes -- about 35 different subtypes, The most common type of lymphoma is called Hodgkin's disease. All other lymphomas are grouped together and are called non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The lymphatic system is part of the body's immune defense system. Its job is to help fight diseases and infection. Lymphoma is a cancer that begins in the lymphatic cells of the immune system and presents as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. It is treatable with chemotherapy, and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable, depending on the histology, type, and stage of the disease Types of Lymphoma · Hodgkin's Lymphoma · Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma · T-Cell Lymphomas · B-cell Lymphoma Myeloma: The blood contains several different types of cells, each with an important job in the body. All blood cells develop in the bone marrow, the spongy substance within our bones. The originator of all blood cells is an immature cell known as the stem cell. The stem cells give rise to committed or programmed stem cells, which then differentiate to form mature cells that circulate in our blood.
Plasma cells are part of the immune system and make antibodies. Because patients have an excess of identical plasma cells, they have too much of one type of antibody. As myeloma cells increase in number, they damage and weaken the bones, causing pain and often fractures. When bones are damaged, calcium is released into the blood leading to hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood) and that causes loss of appetite, nausea, thirst, fatigue, muscle weakness, restlessness, and confusion. Types of Myeloma * Multiple Myeloma * Giant cell myeloma
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