At the hospital, they discovered the swollen lymph node, diagnosed it as a minor infection, and treated it with antibiotics. Her health began a downward spiral afterward as she began to experience symptoms that required further medical exploration.

In January 1994, additional swollen lymph nodes appeared, and tests finalized the diagnosis. Various treatments, including radiation to her brain, were begun, and cancer spread to her liver, spine, and brain. She died within five months. At the time, she would receive world-class treatments at the most prestigious medical centers to no avail. Today, the outlook for the disease is much improved with advances in medicine.

The actress Jane Fonda, age 85, revealed that she, too, has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is faring well with treatment. No longer viewed as a fatal illness, the prognosis for patients has improved significantly since 1994.

As Fonda noted on her social media account:

“This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.

I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, and it’s painful, that I am privileged in this. Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another, and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right… I’m doing chemo for 6 months and am handling the treatments quite well and, believe me, I will not let any of this interfere with my climate activism.”

Causes and Treatments

Why someone develops the disease is still a question for researchers to answer. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is caused by a change (mutation) in the DNA of a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, although the exact reason why this happens isn’t known.

Even before treatment, diagnosing cancer brings dread and anxiety because “the Big C” has always brought serious stress. As The American Cancer Society notes, Simply finding a lump or possible other sign or symptom of cancer can cause anxiety and fear, along with finding out that they have cancer or that the cancer has come back. Fear of treatment, doctor visits, and tests might also cause apprehension (the feeling that something bad is going to happen). Their website provides ways to help a cancer patient cope with this diagnosis-related anxiety.

The stories we’ve heard over the decades have ingrained this fear into us as hopes for a “cure” seemed dim. Now, instead of cure, we hear that cancers can go into remission and that more effective treatments are available.

Cancer specialists are no longer only found at major research centers but all across the country. Jane Fonda knows that, and she also knows that using her positive attitude to continue her many activities as she receives treatment is helpful. A positive attitude, as we know, is one way to aid our immune system in coping with disease invaders.

Anyone who has experienced cancer-related anxiety should know that evidence of added anxiety in cancer survivors is strong and must be considered in any treatment plan. In a study of 3370 survivors, 40% of the survivors reported moderate to high anxiety scores, and approximately 20% reported moderate to high depression scores. These levels were higher than levels of anxiety in the general population.

Treatments for the disease have come a long way since Jackie Kennedy was diagnosed. Now, in addition to radiation, stem cell transplant, and chemotherapy, we have immune-boosting techniques. A form of immunotherapy known as CAR T-cell therapy is increasingly being used to treat some people with the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Even newer treatments are on the horizon, and the belief is that we will have more powerful weapons to fight this and other forms of cancer in the future.

The post Jackie Kennedy and Jane Fonda — Same Diagnosis, Different Decades and Treatments appeared first on Medika Life.

Each node contains T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and other immune cells. They are exposed to the fluid as it passes through the node, and can mount an immune response if they detect the presence of a pathogen. This immune response often recruits more inflammatory cells into the node – which is why lymph nodes are palpable during infection.

Lymph fluid enters the node through afferent lymphatic channels and leaves the node via efferent channels. Macrophages located within the sinuses of the lymph node act to filter foreign particles out of the fluid as it travels through.

Lymph nodes are kidney or oval shaped and range in size from 0.1 to 2.5 cm long. Each lymph node is surrounded by a fibrous capsule, which extends inside a lymph node to form trabeculae. The substance of a lymph node is divided into the outer cortex and the inner medulla. These are rich with cells. The hilum is an indent on the concave surface of the lymph node where lymphatic vessels leave and blood vessels enter and leave,

Lymph enters the convex side of a lymph node through multiple afferent lymphatic vessels and from here flows into a series of sinuses. After entering the lymph node from afferent lymphatic vessels, lymph flows into a space underneath the capsule called the subcapsular sinus, then into cortical sinuses, After passing through the cortex, lymph then collects in medullary sinuses. All of these sinuses drain into the efferent lymph vessels to exit the node at the hilum on the concave side.

Location

Lymph nodes are present throughout the body, are more concentrated near and within the trunk, and are divided into groups. There are about 450 lymph nodes in the adult. Some lymph nodes can be felt when enlarged (and occasionally when not), such as the axillary lymph nodes under the arm, the cervical lymph nodes of the head and neck and the inguinal lymph nodes near the groin crease. Most lymph nodes lie within the trunk adjacent to other major structures in the body – such as the paraaortic lymph nodes and the tracheobronchial lymph nodes.

There are no lymph nodes in the central nervous system, which is separated from the body by the blood-brain barrier. Lymph from the meningeal lymphatic vessels in the CNS drains to the deep cervical lymph nodes.

Cells

Subdivisions

A lymph node is divided into compartments called nodules (or lobules), each consisting of a region of cortex with combined follicle B cells, a paracortex of T cells, and a part of the nodule in the medulla. The substance of a lymph node is divided into the outer cortex and the inner medulla. The cortex of a lymph node is the outer portion of the node, underneath the capsule and the subcapsular sinus. It has an outer part and a deeper part known as the paracortex. The outer cortex consists of groups of mainly inactivated B cells called follicles. When activated, these may develop into what is called a germinal centre. The deeper paracortex mainly consists of the T cells. Here the T-cells mainly interact with dendritic cells, and the reticular network is dense.

The medulla contains large blood vessels, sinuses and medullary cords that contain antibody-secreting plasma cells. There are fewer cells in the medulla.

The medullary cords are cords of lymphatic tissue, and include plasma cells, macrophages, and B cells.

Cells

In the lymphatic system a lymph node is a secondary lymphoid organ. Lymph nodes contain lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, and are primarily made up of B cells and T cells. B cells are mainly found in the outer cortex where they are clustered together as follicular B cells in lymphoid follicles, and T cells and dendritic cells are mainly found in the paracortex.

There are fewer cells in the medulla than the cortex. The medulla contains plasma cells, as well as macrophages which are present within the medullary sinuses.

As part of the reticular network, there are follicular dendritic cells in the B cell follicle and fibroblastic reticular cells in the T cell cortex. The reticular network provides structural support and a surface for adhesion of the dendritic cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. It also allows exchange of material with blood through the high endothelial venules and provides the growth and regulatory factors necessary for activation and maturation of immune cells.

There are fewer cells in the medulla than the cortex. The medulla contains plasma cells, as well as macrophages which are present within the medullary sinuses.

As part of the reticular network, there are follicular dendritic cells in the B cell follicle and fibroblastic reticular cells in the T cell cortex. The reticular network provides structural support and a surface for adhesion of the dendritic cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. It also allows exchange of material with blood through the high endothelial venules and provides the growth and regulatory factors necessary for activation and maturation of immune cells.

The post The Lymph Nodes appeared first on Medika Life.

Your circulatory system consists of a pump (your heart) and a network of tubes that conduct blood throughout your body (your blood vessels). With each heartbeat, blood is forced into your arteries, which carry blood away from your heart and toward all of your tissues and organs. As your arteries travel farther from your heart, they divide into progressively smaller vessels called arterioles, which themselves divide into tiny, thin-walled, somewhat leaky vessels called capillaries.

As blood travels through your capillaries, oxygen, nutrients, and fluid are pushed into the surrounding tissues, and carbon dioxide and cellular wastes are retrieved. The blood then proceeds on its way, coursing into progressively larger vessels called venules and then into even larger veins, which finally return the blood to your heart. If the fluid that leaked into your tissues from your bloodstream remained there, your cells would soon drown in the excess. That’s where your lymphatic system picks up the ball.

Function of the Lymphatic System

Mingled among the blood capillaries throughout your body is another network of tiny, thin-walled vessels called lymphatic capillaries. Lymphatic capillaries are designed to pick up the fluid that leaks into your tissues from your bloodstream and return it to your circulatory system.

Nature has ingeniously devised your lymphatic and circulatory systems so the pressure in your blood capillaries is slightly higher than the pressure in your lymphatic capillaries. This pressure gradient from blood capillary to tissue to lymphatic capillary gradually moves fluid from your circulatory system to your lymphatic system, much like water in a river flows downhill.

Just like their neighboring blood capillaries, your lymphatic capillaries join into progressively larger tubes called lymphatic vessels, which transport the fluid from your tissues (this fluid is now called lymph) toward the center of your body. Eventually, the lymph is returned to your bloodstream through two large ducts in the upper central portion of your chest.

The largest of these lymphatic ducts, the thoracic duct, originates in your abdomen, where it collects lymph from your legs, intestine, and other internal organs. As it proceeds upward into your chest, the thoracic duct collects lymph from your thoracic organs, your left arm, and the left side of your head and neck.

The right lymphatic duct, which is much shorter than the thoracic duct, begins high in the right side of your chest. It collects lymph from the right side of your chest wall, your right arm, and the right side of your head and neck. The thoracic duct and the right lymphatic duct reintroduce lymph to your bloodstream through the large veins returning to your heart from your arms: the left and right subclavian veins.

Structure

The general structure of lymphatics is based on that of blood vessels. There is an inner lining of single flattened epithelial cells (simple squamous epithelium) composed of a type of epithelium that is called endothelium, and the cells are called endothelial cells. This layer functions to mechanically transport fluid and since the basement membrane on which it rests is discontinuous; it leaks easily.

The next layer is that of smooth muscles that are arranged in a circular fashion around the endothelium, which by shortening (contracting) or relaxing alter the diameter (caliber) of the lumen. The outermost layer is the adventitia that consists of fibrous tissue. The general structure described here is seen only in larger lymphatics; smaller lymphatics have fewer layers.

The smallest vessels (lymphatic or lymph capillaries) lack both the muscular layer and the outer adventitia. As they proceed forward and in their course are joined by other capillaries, they grow larger and first take on an adventitia, and then smooth muscles.

The lymphatic conducting system broadly consists of two types of channels—the initial lymphatics, the prelymphatics or lymph capillaries that specialize in collection of the lymph from the ISF, and the larger lymph vessels that propel the lymph forward.

Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system is not closed and has no central pump. Lymph movement occurs despite low pressure due to peristalsis (propulsion of the lymph due to alternate contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle), valves, and compression during contraction of adjacent skeletal muscle and arterial pulsation.

The post The Lymphatic Vessels appeared first on Medika Life.