Yesterday, 83-year-old famous Japanese movie star Gao Cangjian died of lymph [cancer] in Tokyo. My heart was also shocked. Once I watched the Japanese movie < < Hunt > > and hummed the theme song [La Yala]. His image of man of iron once fascinated me for a long time. Unfortunately, man of iron lost to lymph [cancer] after all.
Is what lymph [cancer]?
Readers may notice that we have put quotation marks on this cancer word. Why?
Lymphoma (Lymphoma) is a unified translation in the domestic medical field, which is the general name for malignant transformation of lymphocytes in the immune system. Because it is malignant, ordinary people will mistakenly call lymphoma [cancer], but in English, the name of this disease has only one word-Lymphoma. In the following, we will continue to use the usual translation in China: lymphoma.
Statistics show that every nine minutes around the world, one more lymphoma patient will be diagnosed. In 2009, CCTV news broadcast host Luo Jing died of lymphoma, and in 2013, Innovation Works founder Kai-Fu Lee also admitted to suffering from lymphoma.
Lymphoma is mainly divided into two categories, namely [Hodgkin lymphoma] and [non-Hodgkin lymphoma], the latter is far more than the former, accounting for about 90%, such as children’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma and skin lymphoma; In addition, the American Cancer Society also attributed [Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia] to lymphoma.
Why add [Hodgkin] before [lymphoma]?
This is because: In 1832, British pathologist Thomas Hodgkin described the disease for the first time. In fact, He didn’t know it was a cancer, Just at the autopsy, He observed swollen and sclerotic lymph nodes and spleen. At that time, no one was interested in his paper on some pathological manifestations of lymph nodes and spleen. It is said that only eight people took part in his academic report. Even when he broke up, those people left without signing their names. Until his death in 1866, his research results were not confirmed.
What is the risk factor for lymphoma?
The causes of cancer are extremely complex. We call [the causes that increase the occurrence of cancer] [Risk Factor]. Risk factors for different cancers are different, some can be changed, while others cannot.
For example, smoking is a risk factor for many cancers. If you stop smoking, you will eliminate this risk factor, which is a risk factor that can be changed. However, some risk factors such as [family history] cannot be eliminated, and some even increase, such as age.
If you have one or more risk factors for a certain cancer, it does not mean that you will definitely get the cancer. However, if you can eliminate all the risk factors for a certain cancer, then you can prevent the cancer to the greatest extent.
In most cases, it is really difficult to say why a specific patient suffers from lymphoma. However, this does not mean that there is nothing we can do to prevent cancer. The best way is to reduce the risk factors for lymphoma.
What are the risk factors for lymphoma?
1. Infection
Epsrein-Barr virus, human T cell virus type 1 (HTLV-1), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human herpes virus type 8 (HHV8), All four viruses can directly infect lymphocytes and cause cancer. It should be noted that human T cell virus type 1 is more common in Japan and Caribbean coastal countries than in other countries and regions. Whether Gao Cangjian was shot by this virus is unknown.
Some lymphomas can be cured by antiviral/antibacterial infection.
For example, hepatitis C virus can cause some types of lymphoma, while splenic marginal zone lymphoma can shrink or even disappear due to successful treatment of hepatitis C;
In ocular adnexal marginal zone lymphoma, some researchers have found the DNA of [Chlamydia psittaci], which can also be reduced or even disappeared by doxycycline.
Antibiotic treatment of Helicobacter pylori is helpful to some patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and even can make cancer tissue disappear.
2. Immunity Declines
Any cause of immune decline is a risk factor for lymphoma.
There is a wide range of coverage here, Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogrens disease and celiac disease, immunosuppressants used to treat some diseases, as well as long-term excessive fatigue in daily life and excessive stress in mental life, can all lead to immune system dysfunction. Of course, exposure to radiation and harmful substances can also reduce immunity.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma often occurs after the age of 60, and the older the age, the greater the risk. According to my understanding, after the age of 60, the body’s immune function gradually decreases, while Hodgkin’s lymphoma is more common in young patients.
3. Obesity and diet
There is growing evidence that, Obesity and diet are risk factors for lymphoma, as are high-fat and high-protein diets. Because of space constraints, it cannot be expanded here, but [the American Cancer Society] and [the National Cancer Institute] will tell you that obesity and diet account for one third of the causes of cancer, higher than the well-known and notorious smoking.
What are the symptoms of lymphoma?
If you find painless swelling in neck, armpit or groin, and unexplained weight loss, fever, night sweat, cough, dyspnea, chest pain, fatigue, easy fatigue, abdominal distension and pain, please go to a regular hospital immediately. Doctors will make a definite diagnosis according to the results of physical examination, blood examination, imaging examination and tissue biopsy.
Treatment and prognosis
Treatment methods, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Because there are many types of [non-Hodgkin lymphoma] and different treatment schemes for different types, if diagnosed, you must go to a regular hospital for treatment and do not believe any [ancestral secret recipe] or [panacea].
In the United States, the five-year survival rate of Hodgkin’s lymphoma is 85%, while that of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is 69%. Active treatment can give patients more survival time.
Summary
Let’s review again. Can lymphoma, which man of iron and Gao Cangjian cannot defeat, be prevented?
The reliable method that you can control most is:
Maintain a normal weight, eat a healthy diet and reduce the risk of virus infection by reducing sexual partners.
But will you?