Hodgkin lymphoma is sometimes called Hodgkin's disease. The name Hodgkin comes from the doctor who first described this cancer. The disease usually starts in ...HomeHodgkinlymphomaDownloadorPrintPDFHodgkinlymphomaHodgkinlymphomaisabloodcancerthatbeginsinthewhitebloodcellscalledlymphocytes.Itisoneofthetwomaingroupsoflymphoma.Theothergroupisnon-Hodgkinlymphoma.HodgkinlymphomaissometimescalledHodgkin’sdisease.ThenameHodgkincomesfromthedoctorwhofirstdescribedthiscancer.Thediseaseusuallystartsinalymphnodeatoneormoreplacesinthebody.Itcanspreadthroughthelymphaticsystemtootherlymphtissue,particularlythespleenandbonemarrow.Becausethelymphaticsystemisanetworkthroughoutthebody,Hodgkinlymphomacanappearinseveralpartsofthebodyatthesametime.Sometimes,Hodgkinlymphomaspreadsoutsidethelymphaticsystemtoformatumourinotherorgans,suchastheliverorlung.Thisisknownasextranodaldisease.Learnmoreabout:Whatisbloodcancer?ThelymphaticsystemTheroleofbloodcellsTypesofHodgkinlymphomaWhogetsHodgkinlymphoma?WhatcausesHodgkinlymphoma?Whatisnon-Hodgkinlymphoma?Whatisbloodcancer?Cancerisadiseaseofthecells,andcellsarethebody’sbasicbuildingblocks–theymakeuptissuesandorgans.Thebodyconstantlymakesnewcellstohelpusgrow,replaceworn-outtissueandhealinjuries.Normally,cellsmultiplyanddieinanorderlyway,sothateachnewcellreplacesonelost.Cancerdevelopswhencellsbecomeabnormalandkeepgrowing.Whenacancerbeginsinabnormalbloodcells,itisknownasabloodcancer.Thethreemaingroupsofbloodcancersarelymphoma,leukaemiaandmyeloma.Lymphomaiscancerofthebody’slymphaticsystem. Inlymphoma,abnormalwhitebloodcellscalledlymphocytesgrowandmultiplyuncontrollablyandcanformalump(tumour),usuallyinalymphnode.Iftheseabnormallymphocytescontinuetobuildup,theycanspreadthroughthelymphandbloodvesselstoformatumourinanotherpartofthelymphaticsystemor,sometimes,inanorganoutsidethelymphaticsystem,suchastheliverorlung.Astheabnormallymphocytesreplacenormalcells,thebody’simmunesystemoftenbecomeslessabletoresistandfightinfections.Sometimesothertypesofcancerspreadt