Hodgkins 101

I've been throwing around the words Hodgkins and Non-Hodgkins like they're somehow major topics of conversation for more than a handful of people.  As a family, I think we all agree that Hodge and Non-Hodge are self absorbed attention whores (sorry Mom, but you know it's the truth).  However, I'm pretty sure Google may have already imploded due to the number of times we've researched these diseases.  What can I say.  We pander.  So, to spare our beloved Google any further stress, I've decided to share with you some articles that I think best explain what we're dealing with here.  Lets start with Hodgkins as it was the first one to turn our peaceful lives upside down.  

This is a post I stumbled onto a few days after Sam was diagnosed in December.  It's from the blog of a former Hodgkins patient who's been in remission for 2 years now.  I think you'll find it very informative.


*I apologize in advance for the colorful language.  

Buck-toothed monkey face syndrome

I am a scientist, so I like to understand things. Since I have a bit of time off work I've been reading through the literature to try and figure out exactly what is wrong with me. Well, there a lot of things wrong with me, but we'll just stick to the Hodgkins. Basically it's a cancer of the lymphatic system where the body screws up the production of a certain kind of white blood cell called a lymphocyte.Let's take a close scientific look at one of these cells. The figure above shows a healthy B-cell on the left, and one of the screwed up cells that are gumming up my lymph nodes on the right. I'm no medical doctor, but I think I can see the problem here. My cells are missing that little thing that looks like a purple straw sticking out the bottom. Ditto for the yellow Q-tip on the left, and the Y-shaped stick on top. Apparently someone forgot to water the little red beansprout because it didn't show up. No sign of Blk, Syk, Lyn, SHIP and the rest of those orange assholes. They couldn't even be bothered to get out of bed. Thank God we've still got the carrot thing on the bottom right, otherwise I'd be totally screwed. The pieces of cucumber sticking out over there look fine too. Nice job guys. On closer inspection my cells look like a bit like a buck-toothed monkey face. I know I'm going to spend the next few months in a doctor's office hearing 'blah blah Nodular Sclerosing Hodgkin's Lymphoma" but in my head I'll be hearing "blah blah buck-toothed monkey face syndrome".

Any questions?