Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is cancer that starts
in lymphoid tissue (also called lymphatic tissue).
The lymphatic system is important for filtering germs
and cancer cells as well as fluid from the extremities
and internal organs. Other types of cancer, lung
or colon cancers for example, can develop in other
organs and then spread to lymphoid tissue. But these
cancers that can spread to lymph nodes are not lymphomas.
Lymphomas start in the lymphoid tissue and can spread
to other organs.
There are two main types of lymphomas. Hodgkin’s
lymphoma or Hodgkin’s disease is named after
Dr. Thomas Hodgkin who first described it as a new
disease in 1832. All other types of lymphoma are
called non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).
Source: American Cancer Society
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