Interesting Article

I came across this article by David Wight in The Costco Connection. Each month they feature an illness on their Health Calendar. I thought it was interesting so therefore decided to include it here. I am typing this verbatim.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Awareness Month

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that more than 900,000 people in the U.S. currently have some form of blood cancer, and more than 53,000 will die from one this year.

That's the bad news. The good news is that improved thereapies and stem cell transplantation have dramactically increased survival rates for most blood cancers.

Leukemia and lymphoma are two forms of blood cancer. In both diseases, while blood cells, normall the infeaction fighters, fail to function properly and start to grow at an abnormal rate.

Leukemia starts in the bone marrow, where blood cells are made, and the cancer cells spread to the blood that circulates through the body in the arteries and veins.

Lymphoma starts in the lymphatic system, which draims waste-collecting lymph from body tissue. Lymphoma may develop in many parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow and blood.

Sometimes there are no warning symptoms or signs of leukemia or lymphoma, or the signs and symptoms will be similar to those more common and less severe illnesses.

The best advice for any person troubled by symptoms such as night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, unexplained weight loss, tiredness or shortness of breath is to see a healthcare provider.

For information about blood cancer and way in which you can help, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides deep resources at www.lls.org.