(Chris Woollams. CANCERactive) The lymphatic system in humans is an important part of the immune system. The whitish liquid flowing through it is called lymph and is important in preventing and treating cancer.
The lymphatic system contains a network of tubes and vessels which connect your cells to certain organs. The volume of lymph in your body is twice that of your blood. Lymph contains white cells of the immune system such as B-lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes and Natural Killer cells. These identify rogue cells, bacteria and certain damaging chemicals and take them to the lymph nodes for analysis before dealing with them. The lymphocytes are formed in the bone marrow, and some are matured in the thymus. The lymphatic system connects the bone marrow, thymus, spleen and even the digestive system to every cell in your body.
Your cells are bathed in lymph, and some immune white immune cells act within the cells, not just outside them. The lymph serves to take some nutrients to your cells. It can hold large levels of triglycerides, and is partticularly susceptible to the ingestion of too much fat. Lymph also takes toxins away from your cells. Toxins and bacteria move from the cells to the lymph, then via a lymph node to join the blood stream, and then to be excreted from the body via liver and kidneys.
Thus it is important that your lymph system is clean and flowing. However, unlike blood, it has no ’heart’ to pump it around. Only you can move it. At night when you sleep it stagnates. Your activity levels are thus crucial to the movement of toxins away from your cells, and for a healthy immune system.
Clean lymph is vital as it bathes all our cells and carries away toxins.
Avoiding high levels of fat consumption is important.
Drinking 2-3 litres of water per day will help the the cancer patient too.
The largest area of lymph lies across the chest in the thoracic duct. Thus light exercise, especially that which moves the chest, helps the flow of lymph.
Swimming, press-ups, yoga, T’ai Chi, laughing and yawning all move the lymph.
Massage, golf, stretching will also help.
It is important to stress that we are not just talking about these benefits for lymphatic cancer patients, but for all cancers.