Questions seeking answers (NHL)

QUESTIONS SEEKING ANSWERS

Please send any thoughts, ideas, or any additional information you may have. Treat these queries as a running conversation about topics of interest. Also, send other questions to be added to the ones already here. All replies will be treated with confidentiality, and all additions to this running conversation will be anonymous unless the contributor wishes to be named.

Question #1:

At the recent CFL mini-conference in NYC, Dr Carol Portlock spoke on the topic of new directions in research. One strand of this research focuses on questions such as these: Can abnormal stimulation lead to lymphoma? Can removal of the stimulant result in improvement? Can immunity be enhanced so that the immune system can control the disease? She illustrated this line of thinking with the cases of MALT lymphoma where a course of antibiotics can sometimes cure the disease if the microorganism Helicobacter pylori is implicated in its causation. Does anyone know more details about this research, what is being looked at, and whether any useful practical strategies are emerging out of it?

Question #2:

Since it is possible that some yet unidentified microorganism is causing lymphoma, wholly or in part, would it make sense for lymphoma patients to undergo rigorous testing for noxious microorganisms and parasites, and that the treatment of any identified microorganisms be part of our care? This seems to make sense also on the level of preventive care -- many people with lymphoma end up with recurrent infections of one sort or another as our immune system runs down, and we could well benefit from the sort of routine preventive care that would monitor for signs of such noxious invasions, attempting to nip them in the bud before the problem becomes more serious. Any thoughts?

Question #3:

People with lymphoma frequently ask about herbal immunostimulation which is commonly used as a complementary strategy in other cancers. The situation is complicated in lymphoma by the fact that the cancer is of the immune system itself, and boosting the activity of the B cells may not be a good idea. On the other hand, herbal modulation of the other components of the immune system might be.

More information is needed. If you've studied this topic, if you have a thought-out opinion on this subject, or if you know someone who might shed more light on it, please write.

Question #4:

It is widely known that people with low grade lymphomas experience spontaneous remissions in up to 30% of the cases. These remissions typically happen over a period of several months of gradual node shrinkage. It is assumed that the immune system is able to keep the disease in check but the mechanism is not known.

Why is it that there are no studies of people who do undergo this remission? If we could discover what it is in the body that is able to halt and reduce the lymphoma, then researchers could focus on replicating this process via treatments. And since the shrinkage is gradual, there is certainly time to alert one's oncologist and enroll in a study lasting for say 6 months. Why is no one interested?! Hello? Anyone? Pretty please?

Back to main menu

This page hosted by

Get your own Free Home Page