Why do we still differentiate between Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's?

tgyphilly

ShadyGuy

Hodgkins lymphoma and non-hodgkins are very different and treatments, while they may ovetlap for some subtypes, are different. One big difference is that the cells in Hodgkins are much larger - more surface area- and often respond well to radiation. It is important to get as much info on the specific type and subtype of lymphoma that a person has in order to optimize treatment. The patient always has the option of just leaving the typing and treatment up to the oncologist and not worry about it.

tgyphilly

Hi Shady,

I know scientifically and medically they are different. My initial rant -- since deleted because it a dumb rant -- was about why the media needs to try and differentiate between HL and NHL when someone famous gets diagnosed, as if anyone in the public knows the difference.

I never tell people anymore that I have/had Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Because, why. I just say: I have lymphoma, this is the treatment, here is the prognosis.

Nobody in the public knows the difference between the many forms of lymphoma nor should they. This differentiation in the media is just silly. People often think that non-Hodgkin's is the "better" one to have, because it doesn't have all that nasty Hodgkin's in it (ha ha). But of course we know that the opposite is often true, and anyway it all depends on staging, recurrence, etc. in terms of prognosis, regardless of whether someone has HL or NHL.

Now there I go ranting again... : )

ShadyGuy

I understand what you are saying but I get irritated with the press for the opposite reason - they will say a celebrity has just “cancer” or has just “lymphoma”. The devil is in the details. For example a person is in much more immediate danger from DLBCL than say indolent FNHL. If the subject has indolent FNHL tell me again in 10 years. In any case it doesn’t matter much to me. I do not care for celebrities. I think many of the stories about them are plants for free publicity. F ox online news is really bad for that. They go pure tabloid mode. Its not news when some actress “stuns with fabulous beach body at 57”. I have to wonder if Fox is paid to put in those articles. Cancer is not just cancer. Lymphoma is not just lymphoma. Have a great weekend!

HarryHook

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1703100#Comment_1703100

ShadyGuy,

Considering that tgyphilly is concerned with the press and its treatment of celebrities, has it occurred to you that he or she is a celebrity? I guess it's too late since you already wrote that you don't care for celebrities. Personally, I don't care for the press putting out incorrect or incomplete information that may change the way people treat the person it's writing about. It's both irresponsible and very common.

ShadyGuy

You are mistaken. I did not say I don’t care for celebrities - I said I do not care for how the press writes about celebrities illnesses. Truth is I seldom if ever even think about “celebrities”, be they entertainers, sports or anything else. To me people are just people. Peace.

po18guy

The WHO has recently re-classified NLPHL into NHL, calling it Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant B-Cell Lymphoma. This has been talked about for some time and may take some time in the gargantuan and slow-to-respond American medical community for treatments to change. BI am guessing that this would take Bleomycin out of the mix - a very good thing. It would probably leave CHOP or R-CHOP as the induction therapy of choice with Bendamustine-Rituxan as an option or in case or relapse. Guessing here. An article which notes the change in classification:

https://www.lymphoma.org.au/types-of-lymphoma/hodgkin-lymphoma/nodular-lymphocyte-predominant-hodgkin-lymphoma-nlphl/

tgyphilly

For the record, I am not a celebrity. : )