Resources for Patients

One person in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer -- such as leukemia or lymphoma -- approximately every four minutes.

According to the going to a new website

American Cancer Society, an estimated combined total of 1,638,910 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia (47,150), lymphoma (79,190) or myeloma (21,700) in 2012.

Leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system.

The dramatic improvement in blood cancer treatment that began during the latter part of the 20th century is largely the result of chemotherapy. Several new drugs (and new uses for established drugs) have greatly improved rates of blood cancer cure and remission. People living with some types and stages of cancer may also benefit from treatment with radiation.

Source: going to a new website Leukemia and Lymphoma Society®: Facts 2012 [pdf]

Facts

There are 2 main types of lymphomas:

Hodgkin lymphoma (also known as Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, or Hodgkin's disease) is named after Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who first described it.
All other types of lymphoma are called non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Source: American Cancer Society going to a new website What is non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

"Lymphoma" is a general term for many blood cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. Lymphoma results when a lymphocyte (a type of white cell) undergoes a malignant change and multiplies out of control. Eventually, healthy cells are crowded out and malignant lymphocytes cause a mass in the lymph nodes, liver, spleen and/or other sites in the body.

Source: going to a new website Leukemia and Lyphoma Society® - Lymphoma.

Leukemia

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy center of bones where our blood cells are formed. The disease develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control.

Leukemia, the most common blood cancer, includes several diseases. The four major types are:

1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)

2. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

3. Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)

4. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)

Source: going to a new website Leukemia and Lyphoma Society® - Leukemia.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)

Although affecting approximately 10 times more adults than children, leukemia is the most common cancer among children, with ALL accounting for approximately 75 percent of all childhood leukemias. The most common type of leukemia in adults is AML, followed by CLL, CML, and ALL.

Source: going to a new website National Cancer Institute: A Snapshot of Leukemia [pdf].