Blurred symptoms make it difficult to diagnose lymphoma

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Cancer can affect different parts of the body, one of them is blood. That's why August is the month set aside to talk about combating one of the most common neoplasms: lymphoma. It is in fact a series of diseases and subtypes with distinct characteristics and degrees of aggression.

"To get an idea, there are more than 60 types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which also makes diagnosis difficult, often compromising the chances of healing," explains hematologist Carlos Chiattone.

In addition to the existence of a diverse range, one of the imps around this scenario is that the symptoms are not always obvious and even confused with other diseases. Sometimes the patient only feels fatigue, loss of appetite and weight, has recurrent infections, among other manifestations.

According to the expert, because early diagnosis is often important for good results in treatment, one of the many challenges of the medical community is to raise awareness and inform the population about these diseases, which are still poorly understood.

According to Dr. Chiattone, hematologic cancers usually affect the production and functions of red or white blood cells. "Often, as the disease progresses, ocular marrow occurs where blood is produced, and involves the disruption of the process of development of these cells by uncontrolled growth of abnormal and cancerous cells," he explains. "This imbalance prevents blood cells from performing some of their functions, such as combating infections, making the body more susceptible," he adds.

Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system, which is responsible for the removal of bodily fluids, among other very important functions, such as the body's defense. This type of cancer occurs when certain cells of the lymphatic system, which must protect us from threats, proliferate uncontrollably, affecting the lymphatic system. "Divided to Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), both show different behaviors, signs and degrees of aggression," says the hematologist.

For reasons still unknown, the number of cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has doubled over the last 25 years, especially in people over 60¹. In the face of such a diverse and complex scenario, the good news is that today there are more treatment options, some very specific, indicated for certain types of rare hematologic cancers. With these increasingly selective new options, the prognosis of patients diagnosed with some form of hematologic cancer has improved.