Understanding Lymphoma
- Spanish DJ and producer B Jones, 40, has revealed she was diagnosed with a new lymphoma just days after a bone marrow transplant, months after overcoming cancer to perform at Tomorrowland, and is preparing for another round of treatment.
- Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. And there are more than 40 different types of lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma are the two most common types.
- Treatment depends on the type of lymphoma you have and how advanced it is. Treatment options typically include chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant.
- If you have a cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.
B Jones was diagnosed with lymphoma in January and announced she was in remission after four rounds of chemotherapy, then DJed the Tomorrowland Mainstage from a wheelchair in July.
Read More“I only needed a bone marrow transplant, which was very, very painful and very hard. I did it,” she explained. “Four days later I had my first appointment and I had a new lymphoma, meaning new cancer. Facing that has possibly been the hardest thing I have ever faced in my life. Going back to the same thing.”
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She has now spent two months in a hospital bed and says she has lost all her muscle mass and can’t move.
Doctors performed another surgery and biopsy, which confirmed the cancer, and her next step is a different treatment, starting with pills followed by surgery.
“I’m going to do it and — I’m alive, right? Even though right now not even that brings me joy,” she said in the footage.
“Today I finally got out of bed. I’m sitting in my wheelchair. Everything hurts. But I’m going to do rehabilitation exercises. I’ll be back soon. I promise you.”
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B Jones added that doctors had performed another surgery and biopsy, which confirmed the cancer.
“I can’t explain the pain I’m going through,” she added. “Yes, it’s a lymphoma again, and I’m going to … beat it. And I hope you’re there with me. I really love you all very much. Thank you for the support.”
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Back in August, B Jones shared footage of herself DJing from a wheelchair at Tomorrowland, alongside a message celebrating what she believed was the end of her cancer journey.
“FAMILY. Today is a VERY big day for me. Finally I can say I made it,” she captioned her post. “A few days ago I received my marrow transplant and after all I’ve been through, today I can look back, think of that January when this f***ing disease started and realize I’ve accomplished every step of the way.”
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“Now it’s practically time to be reborn: get back vaccinations I received as a baby, regain strength, rehabilitate and rebuild myself little by little,” she continued. “But today I want to close one door: the one of cancer.”
She also revealed she was dealing with hip problems, which she said were side effects of her medications and would require surgery. “Hopefully later they will allow me to run again,” she noted.
B Jones later shared that she had undergone an autologous bone marrow transplant “with my own stem cells,” and said she was “grateful for so much good energy that makes me fight with a smile.”
RELATED: How to Read Your Pathology Report: Cutting Through the Medical Jargon
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What is an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant?
An autologous stem cell transplant is a procedure that gives you an infusion of your own healthy stem cells — the early blood cells in your bone marrow that grow into infection-fighting white blood cells, oxygen-carrying red blood cells, and blood clotting platelets. But really, the point of a stem cell transplant isn’t about the stem cells at all.
“The magic is the chemotherapy,” Dr. Caitlin Costello, hematologist/oncologist at UC San Diego Health, previously explained to SurvivorNet. “The purpose of an autologous transplant is an opportunity to give your body high-dose chemotherapy.”
Getting high doses of chemotherapy rids your body of cancer cells. The problem is, chemotherapy damages all quickly growing cells, which includes not only cancer cells but also the blood cells you need. The chemotherapy is so strong that, “if we did nothing else, if we did not put any of those stem cells back in you, your body would never grow bone marrow again,” Dr. Costello says.
Understanding Lymphoma
Lymphomas are a type of blood cancer that begin in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. They are separated into two categories: Hodgkin Lymphoma and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma being the more common type.
It’s unclear what specific type of lymphoma DJ B Jones is battling.
Hodgkin Lymphoma usually starts in a part of the lymph system called B cells, which make proteins called antibodies that help protect the body from germs. With those cells compromised, it’s more difficult to protect your body from germs may may increase the risk of infections.
The disease predominantly is diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 to 40, and over 55. Symptoms include severe itching, swelling in lymph nodes in your neck, night sweats, fever, unexplained weight loss, daily fatigue, decreased tolerance to alcohol or experiencing pain in lymph nodes after consuming alcohol.
Despite being relatively rare, progress in research and treatment means there’s a good chance many patients will make a full recovery.
It’s also interesting to note that there are more than 40 different types of lymphoma.
“Lymphoma is split up into a number of different categories,” Dr. Elise Chong, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, tells SurvivorNet.
“The first distinguishing breakpoint, if you will, is non-Hodgkin lymphoma versus Hodgkin lymphoma,” she adds, “and those sound like two different categories. But non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises the majority of lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma is a single specific type of lymphoma.”
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
Hodgkin lymphoma has giant cells called Reed-Sternberg cells. The presence of these cells, which can be seen under a microscope, will help your doctor determine which of the two lymphoma types you have.
Another difference between these two types of lymphoma is that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to spread in a random fashion and be found in different groups of lymph nodes in the body, while Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to grow in a uniform way from one group of lymph nodes directly to another.
These two different types of lymphoma behave, spread and respond to treatment differently, so it’s important for you to know which type you have.
Your doctor will tailor your treatment to the stage of your cancer, as well as other factors, such as how aggressive it is. Chemotherapy is generally part of the treatment at every stage. But in the early stages, radiation may be added, because stage I and II lymphomas tend to respond well to radiation.
Dr. Chong also told SurvivorNet, “The one thing that I always reassure people about when they are diagnosed with advanced stage lymphoma is that, unlike other cancers, where advanced stage is a death sentence, that’s certainly not the case for lymphoma.”
A Patient’s Perspective: Embrace Optimism and Be Your Own Hero
Spotting the Symptoms
The first lymphoma symptoms can be so subtle that you might not even notice them. It may not be until you visit your doctor for a check-up that you discover there could be a problem.
“People say, ‘But I feel completely fine,’ and that’s very normal,” Dr. Chong explains. If a lump is found, often “it’s only because either someone palpated a lymph node and felt some swelling in their neck or in their groin or under their arm.”
If you are at risk for this cancer because you had cancer or an organ transplant in the past, you have an autoimmune disease, or you have an infection such as HIV or Epstein-Barr, it may be worth watching out for symptoms like these:
- Swollen lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, or groin
- Weight loss
- Tiredness
- Fevers
- Swollen belly
But keep in mind that these are more likely to be symptoms of something far less serious, such as a run-of-the-mill infection.
WATCH: Dr. Jason Westin explains symptoms associated with lymphoma
There are also a group of symptoms doctors refer to as “B symptoms.” Those include a fever, night sweats, or weight loss.
“If people are having any of these symptoms, it’s really important that they tell their physician early so that the proper testing can be done,” Dr. Chong says.
Finding Lymphoma With Imaging Tests
Sometimes the first sign of lymphoma appears not as a symptom, but as a clue on an imaging test that’s done for another reason. “I have patients who’ve gotten into car accidents and said, ‘I had a scan of my body and they saw these lymph nodes,’ and that’s how initially the lymphoma was found,” says Dr. Chong.
If your symptoms appear first, your doctor might send you for an imaging test. An x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan can identify the cause.
RELATED: Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk
The only way to confirm whether you have lymphoma is with a biopsy. Your doctor will remove a piece of tissue from a lymph node, or the entire node. Then, a specially trained doctor called a pathologist examines the sample in a laboratory to see whether it contains lymphoma cells, and if so, which type of lymphoma they are.
A biopsy can either put your mind at ease by letting you know that you don’t have cancer, or give you a sense of direction by giving your doctor a launching-off point to plan your treatment. If you do have lymphoma, you can get at least some comfort from knowing that there are a number of good treatments to help manage it, even if you’re diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Focusing on the Positive on Your Cancer Journey
Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health, says that maintaining good emotional health and quality of life is associated with better survival and patient outcomes. She encourages cancer patients to prioritize their emotional health for this reason.
WATCH: The benefits of finding time for joy amid health struggles.
“So definitely working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment, your emotional well-being, definitely working on those things and making them better are important and can impact your survival,” Dr. Chase told SurvivorNet.
Dr. Chase suggests tapping into your support network, including loved ones like friends and family. It can also be a patient advocate or a support group — in-person or virtual — that shares your cancer or disease.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you are dealing with a lymphoma diagnosis, it’s important to ask your doctor a series of questions so you will have an idea of what your next steps will look like. To help you during this difficult time, SurvivorNet has some questions to kickstart your conversation with your physician.
- What type of lymphoma do I have?
- What does my pathology report say about my diagnosis?
- Should I get a second opinion before I explore possible treatment options?
- Based on my diagnosis, what do you anticipate my treatment path?
- What common side effects should I expect when I begin treatment?
- Will I be able to continue working and performing normal daily activities during treatment?
- Where can I get help working with the insurance company regarding treatment costs?
- Who do you recommend I get mental health help from during my treatment?
If you have a cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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