The University of Nebraska Medical Center

When Zachary was diagnosed with lymphoma, family members began researching the best programs in the country. The names University of Nebraska Medical Center and Dr. Julie Vose continued to surface. Dr. Vose agreed to take Zachary’s case and he was flown by air ambulance from Indiana to Omaha.

Upon arrival, Zachary’s family and Zach were immediately impressed with the level of professionalism, extraordinary medicine, and compassionate care they received from everyone associated with the program. Without a doubt, they knew Zachary was being cared for in a very special place.

Because of the exceptional care provided by Dr. Vose and the UNMC team, Zach was able to celebrate his 26th birthday at home and was given an additional year of life.

UNMC is among the leading lymphoma research centers in the United States. With its amazing team of doctors and researchers we believe that someday, their work and your support will lead to a cure for lymphoma.

This site was built to help make that cure a reality. With your generous support, we believe this wonderful team of researchers will cure lymphoma.

You can learn more about the University of Nebraska Medical Center by visiting their site at www.unmc.edu. Or, if you're interested in their ongoing research or clinical trials visit the research section of the site at www.unmc.edu/lymphoma.

The Disease

The average age of someone who gets Non-Hodgkins is aroundt 65.

The average age of a person who gets Hodgkins lymphoma is 25.

More than 74,000 people were diagnosed with lymphoma in 2008.

There were 19,160 deaths from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma  that year.

The survival rate for Hodgkins Lymphoma is 90% or better with early detection.

Hodgkins Lymphoma shows two peaks: age 15-35 and over 55.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can occur in both adults and children.

Hodgkins Lymphoma is characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells (RS cells).

Risk factors for Non-Hodgkins disease include:

Hypogammaglobulinemia or Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
Autoimmune disease
Rheumatoid arthritis
Psoriasis
Sjogren Syndrome
T-lymphotrophic virus tupe I
Epstein-Barr virus
Helicobacter Pylori infection

Types of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma include:

B-Cell
Follicular
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma
Mantle Cell
Marginal Zone B-Cell
Primary Mediastinal B-Cell
Burkitt
Lymphoplasmacytic
Hairy Cell
Primary Central Nervous System
T-Cell
Peripheral T-Cell

Types of Hodgkins Lymphoma include:

Nodular Sclerosis (NS)
Lymphocyte Predominance (LP)
Mixed Cellularity (MC)
Lymphocyte Depleted (LD)
Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant (NLP)

Treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma include:

Radiation
Chemotherapy
Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)
Rituxan (in clinical trials)
Stem Cell Transplant 

Clinical Trials

This is an exciting time for lymphoma research. Through clinical trials, advances in the understanding of the disease have led to newer treatments designed to more specifically target the lymphoma cells as compared to traditional chemotherapy regimens. The number of therapies available today as compared to 30 years ago has significantly increased because of these discoveries. However, the incidence of lymphoma continues to rise and many patients still are not cured.

At UNMC we are involved in many types of clinical trials which test newer ways to treat lymphoma and other diseases. Some of the trials are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies which help fund costs associated with running these trials. Other trials are designed and implemented by our expert team of physicians and researchers and funding is not always available for these types of trials. TeamZachary.com provides financial support for these trials which currently are working to improve therapeutic regimens for transplantation, treatments for incurable types of lymphoma, and treatments for patients whose disease has relapsed. With Team Zachary's help, perhaps more patients with lymphoma can achieve improved quality of life, longer life, and hopefully a cure.