Your GP won't be able to tell just from examining you whether or not you have lymphoma. You might have simple tests like blood tests or a electrocardiogram (ECG) test at your GP practice. However, to determine whether or not you have lymphoma, you would need to be referred for further tests at the hospital.
Blood tests are essential to accurately diagnosing this complex disease. These tests can show whether you have lymphoma cells or abnormal levels of normal cells: Blood smear: We take a drop of blood and look at it under a microscope.
A hematologist specializes in the pathology of blood cells, and a lymphoma pathologist specializes in the diagnosis and classification of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
If the doctor suspects lymphoma, they will recommend a biopsy, as well as laboratory and imaging tests. In addition to a physical examination, the following tests may be used to diagnose and manage NHL: Biopsy.
The best way to find lymphoma early is to pay attention to possible signs and symptoms. One of the most common symptoms is enlargement of one or more lymph nodes, causing a lump or bump under the skin which is usually not painful. This is most often on the side of the neck, in the armpit, or in the groin.
Common symptoms of having lymphoma include swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, in your armpits or your groin. This is often but not always painless and often could be associated with fevers, or unexplained weight loss, or drenching night sweats, sometimes chills, persistent fatigue.
extreme tiredness – tiredness that doesn't go away even after rest or sleep (fatigue) chest pain, cough or breathlessness if there's a swelling in your chest. feeling uncomfortably full or feeling sick caused by a swelling in your stomach area. itching either widespread or in one place.
NHL is a difficult disease to diagnose, therefore you may want to get a second opinion by an experienced hematopathologist before you begin treatment. Some types of NHL can be confused with one other. The appropriate treatment depends on having the correct diagnosis.
Lymphoma can be misdiagnosed or fail to be diagnosed if a physician mistakes symptoms for another disease and fails to do a biopsy or blood test. In some cases, blood tests or biopsies can also be erroneously diagnosed as other diseases by pathologists that are not well trained in detecting lymphoma.
Low-Grade Lymphoma
These grow so slowly that patients can live for many years mostly without symptoms, although some may experience pain from an enlarged lymph gland. After five to 10 years, low-grade disorders begin to progress rapidly to become aggressive or high-grade and produce more severe symptoms.
Urgent referral to a specialist
Your GP should arrange for you to see a lymphoma specialist (a haematologist) if you have swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged spleen, and your GP can't explain the cause. Your doctor will ask about other symptoms, such as: unexplained fevers. weight loss.
With lymphoma, the lymph nodes often grow slowly and may be there for months or years before they're noticed. But sometimes they grow very quickly. Usually, the swollen nodes don't hurt. But some people say their lumps ache or are painful.
Lymphoma is cancer that starts in the lymph nodes. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the lymph nodes in the armpits it does not become lymphoma. The cancer cells that have spread to the lymph nodes are still breast cancer cells.
The most common sign of lymphoma is a lump or lumps, usually in the neck, armpit or groin. These lumps are swollen lymph nodes, sometimes known as 'glands'. Usually, they're painless. Fatigue is different to normal tiredness.
Most types of lymphoma can't be diagnosed by a blood test. However, blood tests can help your medical team find out how lymphoma and its treatment are affecting your body.
Your medical team should be able to give you an idea of when to expect your test results. In most cases, it takes a couple of weeks to get test results. It can take longer to get the results of non-urgent tests, for example, those that are part of your routine follow-up .
Many individuals experience this itchiness in their hands, lower legs or feet, while others feel it throughout their entire body. Patients often report that the itching tends to worsen while they are lying in bed at night.
It's easy to miss signs of lymphoma as they may be subtle or nonspecific like a cold or flu. This is especially true for lymphoma that starts in the female reproductive organs - very few women report any symptoms.
low-grade or indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma – where the cancer grows slowly and you may not experience any symptoms for many years.
Make an appointment with your primary care doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that worry you. If your doctor suspects you have lymphoma, he or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in diseases that affect the blood cells (hematologist).
Lymph nodes can swell for a variety of reasons and are considered to be enlarged if they are bigger than 1.5 centimeters in diameter, or slightly larger than a pea. Typically, lymph nodes that are enlarged due to lymphoma are much bigger and can grow to be the size of a grape (or larger).
Cancer-related fatigue is exhaustion that's at a much higher level than would usually be expected – you might feel tired very quickly after doing quite little. It can be physical, emotional or mental exhaustion.
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma
This fast-growing lymphoma accounts for about one third of NHL cases. For this lymphoma, it is typical for lymph nodes to double in size every month, and patients often present within a few months of having noted an enlarged lymph node.
The most common symptom of Hodgkin lymphoma is a swelling in the neck, armpit or groin. The swelling is usually painless, although some people find that it aches. The swelling is caused by an excess of affected lymphocytes (white blood cells) collecting in a lymph node (also called lymph glands).