What is Hodgkin’s disease?
Hodgkin’s disease is a kind of cancer that has an impact on the lymphatic system. There is an unusual increase of a certain kind of white blood cell (lymphocytes). It is represented by the appearance of particular abnormal cells (Sternberg cells). This is the difference between Hodgkin’s lymphoma and all other lymphomas that are called "non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas".
In the case of Hodgkin’s disease, the proliferation of abnormal cells leads to increased lymph node volume. Lymphocytes are no longer functioning properly. As a result, the body loses part of its defense system against viruses and bacteria and, as a result, infections occur more easily.
It is likely that the disease initially appears in one place, usually a lymph node, sometimes elsewhere in the lymphatic system: in the spleen, liver, or bone marrow.
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