12 Groups of Cancer campaign

Wigan Today

13-year-old Josh Cubbin from Wigan  Children with Cancer UK's short films to raise awareness for childhood diseases

Transcript

00:00 Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer which develops in the body's lymphatic system or lymph nodes.

00:19 There are two main types of lymphoma. Hodgkin lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin's disease,

00:27 and NHL, short for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These are biologically very different tumours

00:35 despite both being lymphomas. NHL, including Burkitt lymphoma, accounts for about half

00:43 of all lymphomas in children, Hodgkin's disease the other half. The incidence of NHL

00:50 increases and peaks in young school-aged children, whereas Hodgkin's disease is most commonly

00:57 seen in teenagers.

01:03 Hodgkin's lymphoma symptoms include a persistent, maybe lasting a few weeks, painless swelling

01:11 of a single lymph gland, usually in the neck, armpit or groin. Cough or breathlessness can

01:20 occur if the glands in the chest are affected. Fever, sweats, particularly at night, itching

01:29 and weight loss. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma symptoms in children include again painless swelling

01:37 of a single lymph gland, commonly in the neck. Cough or breathlessness can occur if the glands

01:44 in the chest are affected. Stomach pains or stomach swelling if the abdominal lymph glands

01:51 are affected. Fever and night sweats, tiredness, weight loss or feeling full after only a small

02:01 meal.

02:06 The exact diagnosis will be confirmed by removing part or all of an affected lymph gland so

02:14 that the cells can be examined in the laboratory. This is known as a biopsy and is usually carried

02:21 out under general anaesthetic. Further tests such as x-rays, CT and MRI scans and blood

02:27 tests are carried out to determine the exact size and position of the lymphoma and whether

02:34 it has spread. This is known as staging. Hodgkin's lymphoma can be defined in one of several stages,

02:43 numbered 1 to 4. The numbers simply mean the number of parts of the body or lymph nodes

02:51 that have been affected. In addition, there is a letter A or B assigned to the number.

02:59 A means you don't have any of the systemic symptoms such as itching, weight loss etc.

03:07 B means that you do have some of those symptoms.

03:16 The main treatment for lymphoma in children is chemotherapy. Sometimes patients with Hodgkin's

03:22 lymphoma will also require radiotherapy. The type and amount of treatment given depends

03:30 on the stage of the disease at diagnosis and the response to chemotherapy seen on scans.

03:37 Where chemotherapy is used, it usually will be given every few weeks for a number of months.

03:44 Where radiotherapy is used, it is usually given for a few minutes each day over a period

03:50 of a few weeks. Treatment for lymphoma generally lasts for around 6 months.

04:01 Treatment for lymphoma often causes side effects. These will depend on the particular treatment

04:07 being used and the part of the body being treated and may include hair loss, tiredness,

04:16 nausea and vomiting, a reduced resistance to infection, bruising and bleeding and gut

04:24 and nutritional symptoms. A small number of children may develop late side effects, sometimes

04:32 many years later, that are caused by their treatment for lymphoma. The main risks arise

04:40 from the use of radiotherapy which can impair growth and cause infertility. There is also

04:47 a risk of underactive thyroid associated with irradiation to the neck. Both radiotherapy

04:54 and chemotherapy have also been associated with heart and lung complications. There is

05:01 an increased risk of second cancers in those who survive childhood cancer thought to be

05:06 associated with the various treatments used.

05:14 The survival rate for lymphoma is high. Almost all children with this cancer can be cured.

05:22 It is important to note that survival rates vary depending on the stage of the lymphoma.

05:29 Occasionally the cancer can recur. When this happens it is called a relapse. Relapse

05:36 occurs most likely as a result of a few of the original cancer cells surviving the treatment.

05:44 Sometimes this is because cancer cells spread to other parts of the body and were too small

05:50 to be detected during the follow-up immediately after treatment. Treatment of the relapse

05:56 will vary and will be discussed with you as it may differ from the original course of

06:01 treatment.

06:01 [Music]

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