IT’S LYMPHOMA, NOT THE FLU!
Last September 18, the Philippine College of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (PCHTM) and Lymphoma Philippines Foundation, together with Roche (Philippines) Inc., launched the 1st Philippine Lymphoma Awareness Day.
This is a significant milestone in our efforts to raise awareness about this type of blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system and bring together patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders to work on a common goal.
Very little is known about lymphoma despite the fact that more than 580,000 individuals worldwide—4,000 here in the Philippines—are diagnosed with this condition each year.
Lymphoma 101
There are two main types of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma and Non-hodgkin lymphoma or NHL. Of these two, NHL is found in 4 out of 5 lymphoma patients. In fact, every minute, a person is diagnosed with NHL worldwide.
The challenge with diagnosing lymphoma is that its symptoms mimic those of common diseases such as the flu and tuberculosis (TB), which may include fever, coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain, weakness or tiredness that do not go away.
Because of this, most of the time, patients consult their doctors when symptoms have progressed to include soaking night sweats, unexplained weight loss, and swollen but painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin areas. Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis tend to occur in lymphoma, and early detection is crucial to provide patients with a high chance of cure.
Lymphoma is diagnosed by employing several tests and procedures. This usually starts with the doctor— either a hematologist or an oncologist— getting the patient’s medical history and looking first for any infection that might be causing the swollen lymph nodes. Blood tests and imaging tests are also ordered. One way to confirm NHL is to perform a biopsy of the swollen lymph node or other affected area.
Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-general of the World Health Organization, alerted us a few years ago when she said: “the complexity of cancer control increased enormously following the shift of the disease burden from wealthy to less affluent countries. If no action is taken, deaths from cancer in the developing world are forecast to grow to 6.7 million in 2015 and 8.9 million in 2030. In contrast, cancer deaths in wealthy countries are expected to remain fairly stable over the next twenty years.”
The reason behind the growth in developing countries is that on average, a significant number of cancer patients—including those with lymphoma—are being diagnosed at a very late stage of the illness, when treatment is already difficult as well as costly.
There are many things that we could do. While the prognosis for each patient will depend on the type and severity of the diagnosis, as well as how early it is detected, the 5year survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is almost 90 percent and many with this type of lymphoma are able to go on and lead active lives after being cured. Similarly, the majority of those diagnosed with NHL also survive the disease as the 5-year survival rate for NHL is estimated to be about 70 percent.
Indeed, increasing the amount of awareness toward lymphoma just like what others are doing to other types of cancer should be able to help. The 1st Philippine Lymphoma Awareness Day is just the beginning.
There are many things we can do together to raise awareness on lymphoma and help lymphoma patients have a fighting chance of survival. With events like Lymphoma Awareness Day here in the Philippines, we could help spread the word, educate the public with reputable information from credible sources and fight the misinformation that could even come from wellmeaning friends and family members and sometimes even by medical practitioners.
Dr. Rosalio Torres, a hematologist, is the president of the Philippine College of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (PCHTM). Lymphomatters is an information advocacy campaign to increase awareness and create better understanding for lymphoma. Emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and getting the right treatment for lymphoma, Lymphomatters is a collaborative effort of the Philippine College of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, Lymphoma Philippines Foundation and Roche Philippines.