Posts Tagged ‘Lymph Nodes’

An Overview of the Symptoms of Tuberculosis

Comments: 0November 30th, 2011 by admin



If the tuberculosis bacilli lie dormant in the body, a person does not get the symptoms of the disease and he cannot spread it to others. However, once the bacilli get active, the symptoms begin to appear and at this point the person is infectious and can spread the disease to others.

Overview of the Symptoms of Tuberculosis:
The most common organ to be infected by tuberculosis bacilli are the lungs. The symptoms begin gradually and most people do not notice them because they are mild. The most common symptoms of tuberculosis of the lungs are as follows:

o Fever
o Chills
o Night sweats
o Cough with thick sputum, which can sometimes be bloody
o Fatigue
o Weakness
o Loss of appetite
o Loss of weight for no apparent reason
o Chest pain
o Shortness of breath

Many of these symptoms are similar to those of pneumonia and lung cancer. That is why it is best to visit a doctor and get yourself tested for tuberculosis before jumping to any conclusions.

The symptoms of tuberculosis in other organs depend on the area of infection. For instance, tuberculosis of the spine will lead to back pain; while that of the lymph nodes will lead to swelling of the neck.

Most symptoms are not obvious until the disease reaches an advanced stage. And, many times the symptoms are attributed to another disease or disorder and people neglect going to a doctor.

Most people who get infected with tuberculosis bacilli will get the disease in the first few years, but it is quite possible for the bacilli to lie dormant in the body for years before causing an infection.

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Herpes Zoster Virus – Discover the Symptoms of the Zoster Virus

Comments: 0November 25th, 2011 by admin



The Herpes Zoster Virus is responsible for causing shingles, which is a painful rash. This same virus is responsible for causing chicken pox in children. When most people have recovered from chicken pox the virus becomes dormant, however in some people the virus reactivates itself, usually several years after the individual first suffered from chicken pox.

Although shingles is a contagious infection it cannot be transmitted by touching an infected person.

No one knows what causes the herpes zoster virus to reactivate itself in certain individuals, all that is known is what happens to it after chicken pox has been contracted, and the process that occurs before an individual contracts shingles. After an individual (usually a child) has suffered from chicken pox the virus travels to the root of the nerves where it becomes dormant. When an individual contracts shingles it’s because the virus has “awoken” and travelled from the root of the nerves back up to the skin.

The people who are most susceptible to shingles are the elderly and people with immune deficiency (which can be caused by chemotherapy and HIV). But the vast majority of people who catch this infection are people with a normal immune system.

Now let’s look at the symptoms of shingles:
The initial indicator that the herpes zoster virus has reactivated is a burning sensation around the nerve paths as the virus travels through them. The individual will then feel pain, usually on one side of the body. The pain can affect different parts of the body but it depends on the positions of the nerve paths that the virus is travelling through.

The next symptom to occur is a rash consisting of miniature red blisters. The skin around the rash also becomes swollen. The sufferer will develop a fever and will find that his lymph nodes become swollen.

After 3-5 days the blisters burst and become painful sores. Over the next week or so these sores scab over and eventually fall off.

Some people may experience postherpetic neuralgia, this is when the skin becomes very painful after the scabs have fallen off. This unpleasant symptom can last for between 3 weeks to several months.

If you suffer from any of the symptoms mentioned above you should go and see your doctor right away, a doctor can quite easily diagnose this condition by the presence of the rash as well as looking of your medical history. If the symptoms that are displayed are not conclusive enough for a doctor to diagnose herpes then a scrape test or a blood test can be used in order to accurately diagnose the condition.

If shingles is diagnosed the doctor will prescribe antiviral medication such as zovirax or acyclovir. These types of medications are most effective when they are used as soon as the burning sensation begins. The treatment becomes less effective if it is used more than 48 hours after the rash has occurred. So time is of the essence in regards to treating shingles. If medication is taken early, then the patient can expect the infection to go away faster, and the infection will not be able to spread.

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Acute Lymphocyctic Leukemia

Comments: 0April 7th, 2009 by admin



Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer, causes damage and possible death by crowding the normal blood cells in the bone marrow and will eventually spread to other organs. ALL is commonly found in children but also found in adults and if left untreated can be fatal. The risk of getting ALL goes up in people age 45 and will go up again as you grow older. There are over 5000 people expected to be diagnosed with ALL in year 2008.

Effects of ALL

There is short term and long term effects living with ALL and it will be emotionally, physically and financially straining them. While living with ALL, your abnormal blood cells crowd around other cells in the bone marrow. This prevents your body from producing red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets causing many problems in their future such as anemia, and more infection.

Other acute lymphocytic leukemia symptoms are:

* Swollen lymph nodes

* Dyspnea

* Bleed more easily

* Enlarged liver or spleen

Diagnosing ALL

There are many tests that doctors use to diagnose ALL and the tests they use will depend on other factors such as your age, the severity of the symptoms. The tests given are blood work, a bone marrow biopsy, cytogenetics, imaging tests and more.

Treatment

Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for this disease varying in length and number of drugs involved. Clinical trials are another often used option that allow doctors to continue to learn about and improve treatments for ALL.

If you are experiencing some or all of acute lymphocyctic leukemia symptoms then you need the right legal guidance. Please contact a medical attorney today. There are experienced and trustworthy people who can give you the legal support you deserve.

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Posted in leukimia

Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer Overview

Comments: 0March 28th, 2009 by admin



Stage III ovarian cancer is a more serious level of cancer, which has spread to include the pelvic area and organs, and the abdominal organs (liver, bowels, lymph nodes, etc.), and it is easier to diagnose. It is used as part of the prognosis made by a doctor.

Stage III ovarian cancer is then further defined by the TNM determination rating system. TNM is defined to mean to tumor size, node inclusion, metastasis or spread status and grade of the tumor. It will ultimately let doctors known how long a patient has to live and whether they will survive. These factors include:

Each part is defined as follows:

TNM determination rating system

Tumor size – Due to the spread of Stage III, the tumors can only be defined as one of the following:

T3: the tumor is inside one (or both) ovary; the tumor spread includes tissues in the pelvic region, outside the pelvic region and lymph node (s); cancerous cells are found in the abdominal fluids (ascites) or the abdominal cavity washes (peritoneal lavage)

T3a: the tumor is inside one (or both) ovary; the tumor spread includes tissues in the pelvic region, outside the pelvic region and beyond the pelvic region

T3b: the tumor is inside one (or both) ovary; the tumor spread includes tissues in the pelvic region, outside the pelvic region and beyond the pelvic region that are now a maximum size of up to 2cm, and can be seen without a microscope

T3c: the tumor is inside one (or both) ovary; the tumor spread includes tissues in the pelvic region, outside the pelvic region and beyond the pelvic region that is now a 2cm or more in size, and can be seen easily

Node inclusion – As the cancer is at Stage III its classification is:

N1: the tumor has spread to include the lymph nodes

Metastasis or spread determination – As Stage III cancer has been found, only the following classification can be used:

M1: metastases have been found somewhere

Grade of the tumor

The grading of a tumor shows the maturity of the cancerous cells inside the ovary (s). As the cancer is now at Stage III, it can only be classified as the following:

Grade 2: a combination of both normal and cancerous cells; cancerous cells account for about every other cell

Grade 3: very few normal cells if any are left; most or all cells are cancerous

The lower the grade, the slower a tumor will grow, and the better the patient’s chance of survival. The higher the grade, the quicker the tumor may grow or spread, and the chances of survival are greatly diminished. In this case, Stage III ovarian cancer has greatly reduced the patient’s chances of recovery and/or survival.

Stage groupings

The stage groupings are used to show the order of the varied factors included in the TNM determination rating system. Stage III groupings are as follows:

Stage III

Stage IIIa: T3a, N0, M0

Stage IIIb: T3b, N0, M0

Stage IIIc: T3c, N0, M0, or T(varied), N1, M0

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