biopsy of abdomen node

[Connemmara]

Not too sure what this is all about - my friend has lymphoma for about a year now now they are taking biopsy of I think a node in her abdomen (she is not sure as she is beyond herself). Will she be okay.

She has had a lymphoma lump taken out of neck which was a success. Bone marrow and a groin wire into her heart. Last week they put a camera down her throat and put a stent into her liver to drain bile duct to release jaundice. Can anybody help me here as to what is happening to her. Love her to bits!!!

[Sqad]

Yes.....treatment of Lymphoma depends upon the stage of the disease and the staging is quite complicated but you can Google it if you want to know more.

Simply put, the treatment depends upon whether it is above the diaphragm, below, or both.

We know that it is above, because of the neck lymph node, now if the abdominal node shows malignant disease as well, then it is above AND below the diaphragm and treatment policy will have to change.

[bednobs]

she has got lymphoma and the diseaae is running its course by the sound of it. As you probably know lymphoma is cancer of the lymph system. Some hospitals treat lymphoma like a solid tumour, some treat it like a heamatological cancer. Most people have chemotherapy for it (or a combination of radio/chemotherapy)
You say "bone marrow" but don't specify what she has has done to her bone marrow - biopsy? transplant? you also don't say how long she has had it or what treatment she has had, or what type of lymphoma it is (or how old she is) Sometimes with a low grade lymphoma, the cancer doctors just adopt a "watch and wait" attitude

[bednobs]

whoops, sorry, you did say how long she has had itf for

[bednobs]

also you ask "will she be ok", but probably even her doctors can't answer that with the benefit of all the tests and scans

[Connemmara]

thanks guys - squad you are a mine of information and of course bedknobs - no doctor can tell until tests and treatments are done. They are only starting this now as you say they (doctors) had a watch and wait thing going on with her for over a year. She is also saying to me yesterday that she can feel like wee mini footballs in her abdomen. I take these are lymphnodes - I just cant wait until she feels well cos she is just an energetic person - never sits down either in the house or the garden. By the way just reading your posting bedknobs - no she has had no treatment for any of the tests done ie bone marrow etc. Perhaps they will start now.