lymph cancer - information in brief

[joko]

my boyfriends mum finds out tomorrow if she has this, and i wanted to be able to make him feel a bit better and a bit more hopeful if its a yes, by giving him some statistics perhaps? or info on survival rates etc...?
just something so he doesnt just view it as an instant death sentence...

she is 52 and has found lumps all over, and has had a biopsy done, and if its a yes she will need a year of chemo.
i think she went to the doc as soon as she felt a lump.
shes fairly healthy otherwise really.

can anyone give any idea of how serious this kind of cancer generally is?
does it generally respond well to treatment?
i assume they cant just cut them out, as they are basically glands arent they?

i dont want pages and pages of detailed stuff to read, just some pointers if any one knows? or a simple site that puts it simply

i am of course going to try to be positive for him, but dont want to just be basically saying 'aw dont worry' kind of thing.

i want to give him something real that he can keep in mind and hope for.

although i want the truth - if its a bad one, id rather not say anything at all that lie.

i want swot up a bit tonight in case he calls tomorrow with bad news.

thanks

[slaney]

Difficult to give a simple answer joko, as there are many different kinds of lymphoma - Hodgkins, Non Hodgkins, high grade low grade, and many more, each with their own treatments and outlook.
Also staging with scans and other tests will need to be done.

On the whole these are among the cancers most likely to respond to treatment and great advances and improvements have been made in the last twenty years.

This is one of the best sites for information when you know what you are dealing with..

http://www.lymphomas....LS4prACFcYe4Qodyy4KYA

I hope the news is good and you don't need to use it.

[Sqad]

I agree entirely with slaney's post, the prognosis (future) will depend entirely on the type and grade of cancer and this will range from a poor prognosis to a relatively good prognosis..e.g 80% chance of living for 5 years.

This is if course if it is a primary cancer of lymph glands, which from your description it almost certainly is, BUT if it is a lymphatic spread from a distant primary site, then we are in a different "ball game."

The latter however seems extremely unlikely.

[rowanwitch]

http://www.lymphomas.org.uk/

Some reliable info on here that is easy to access

[Robinia]

I agree with slaney and sqad re the prognosis...and even with more facts there are no certainties either way.
If it is lymphoma the thing I'd say is don't look at the coming year as a whole, that's far too daunting. Tell your boyfriend you'll be there for him and his mum and take it one month at a time. Treatments have come a long way in the past 10/20 years and people aren't necessarily being floored by the aggressive chemo they once were. Stay positive.
I wish her well, I'm a long term survivor (against all the odds) of Hodgkin's.

[joko]

thanks everyone...