Just Reading

I was just reading online a little about Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and a little statistic showed up thought you might find these interesting. This can be found at Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

• About 74,340 Americans will be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2008.
• 8,220 new cases of Hodgkin lymphoma (4,400 males and 3,820 females)
• 66,120 new cases of NHL (35,450 males and 30,670 females).

Most cases of Hodgkin lymphoma occur in people who do not have any identifiable risk factors and most people with presumptive risk factors do not get the disease. The causes of Hodgkin lymphoma are uncertain. To illustrate: Many studies of environmental, especially occupational, linkages have been conducted with unclear results. Epstein-Barr virus has been associated with nearly half of cases. However, this virus has not been conclusively established as a cause of Hodgkin lymphoma. People infected with HTLV and HIV also have an increased probability of developing Hodgkin lymphoma. There are occasional cases of familial clustering, as with many cancers. There is an increased incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma in siblings of patients with the disease.
The incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma among people under 20 years of age was 0.9 per 100,000 people in 2005.

Now if you do the math, that gives me…a 20 year old…a 0.0009% chance of getting the disease I got… I think I should buy a lottery ticket.