Feb 26 2007
Top things to know about your ‘nodes’
We are familiar with our heart, and even our lungs, but when it comes to our lymph nodes, what do we really know? Most of us have heard of them and know they are somewhere in the body, but beyond that, the details often remain a mystery. Take the time to find out what you need to know about your nodes and learn a little more about the lymphatic system, one we can’t live without.
1. Keeping clean - The lymphatic system is an important part of the immune system, which helps keep the body clean of infections and disease. The system circulates lymph, a clear fluid containing lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell which helps fight viruses or bacteria. Lymph nodes are the important filters of the lymphatic system.
2. Up sizing - Lymph nodes look like kidney beans and are less than 2.5 cm long. But when fighting an infection, the nodes become much larger because they require more power to do their job.
3. Find your nodes - Nodes are strategically located throughout the whole body where bacteria are most commonly found. Nodes can be felt more commonly in the armpits, the groin and the neck. There are others that can’t be felt, such as in the stomach, pelvis and chest.
4. Bean counting - No one actually knows exactly how many lymph nodes are in the body, but more than 100 can be counted from head to toe.
5. What is lymphoma - Lymphoma is a kind of blood cancer that affects the lymphocytes. The two most common types are Hodgkin’s lymphoma, discovered by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
6. Know the signs - Since the signs and symptoms of lymphoma can often be mistaken for other less serious illnesses, make sure you know what to look for. A complete list of signs and symptoms is available online at www.lymphoma.ca.
7. It is common - Lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer in Canada. Each year more than 7,400 new adult cases of lymphoma are diagnosed and almost half may die from this cancer. The cause of lymphoma is unknown.
8. A future of hope - In recent years there have been exciting advances in research to treat lymphoma which offer much hope.
More information about lymphoma, lymph nodes, the lymphatic system or signs and symptoms of lymphoma is available through Lymphoma Foundation Canada at 1-866-659-5556 or online at www.lymphoma.ca.
Credit: www.newscanada.com
(ARA) – Getting the flu can have serious consequences, especially for children. Every year, children in the United States get extremely ill and some die from influenza (“the flu”) and its complications. Richard Kanowitz knows this all too well — he and his wife Alissa lost their 4-year-old daughter, Amanda, to the flu four years [...]
Of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 80 percent are women, and having a mother with osteoporosis puts a daughter particularly at risk for fractures.
Priscilla Turner, 67, of Memphis, Tenn., knows this risk all too well. Her 90-year-old mother, Jewell Fondren, suffers from osteoporosis (a disease that causes bone to become weak and susceptible to [...]