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.
Low grade, or indolent, means that the cancer cells are well differentiated. They look and act much like normal cells. Low-grade types of NHL tend to grow slowly and usually only cause a few symptoms as they develop.
Lymphomas are one of the common cancers of our immune system. It makes up to almost 5% of all cancers. It can affect both young and older adults. The common symptoms of this disease are persistent fevers, drenching night sweats, unintentional weight loss, and generalized or localized swelling of the lymph nodes.
Certain forms of lymphoma, such as early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma, usually respond well to treatment and therefore have a high cure rate.
Limited (early) stage Hodgkin lymphoma
Limited stage usually means stage 1 or 2A lymphoma. You will probably have a short course of chemotherapy if you have limited disease. Your doctor might then recommend radiotherapy to the affected lymph nodes.
These include the stage and subtype of cancer, a person's age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works. For stage I NHL, the 5-year relative survival rate is more than 86%. For stage II the 5-year relative survival rate is 78%, and for stage III it is more than 72%.
Blood tests are not used to diagnose lymphoma, but they can sometimes help determine how advanced the lymphoma is.
With lymphoma, the lymph nodes often grow slowly and may be there for months or years before they're noticed.
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.
The most common type of low grade NHL is follicular lymphoma. For limited disease, you are most likely to have radiotherapy to the affected lymph nodes. This can help control the lymphoma for a long time, and may cure it.
Cutaneous T cell lymphoma
Many types of CTCL start as flat red patches on the skin, which can sometimes be itchy. With darker skin, the patches may appear lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. In the early stages, the skin patches can look like other common conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.
Low grade lymphoma, also known as indolent lymphoma, is usually very slow growing and most often incurable, though many patients respond positively to treatment. Low grade lymphomas can be localized in the initial stages, or in severe cases it can spread to different sites.
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.
Other common non-Hodgkin lymphoma symptoms
Night sweats (often soaking the sheets) and/or chills. Persistent fatigue, lethargy, weakness. Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting. Abdominal pain or swelling, or a feeling of fullness.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma symptoms can include swollen lymph nodes (glands), extreme tiredness, chest pain, and cough or breathlessness.
Certain areas of skin may also thicken, harden and form plaques that itch and ulcerate. Typically, these plaques develop on the face or buttocks or within skin folds. As a skin lymphoma rash progresses, papules (small bumps) may start to appear.
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.
You should have an urgent referral if you have swollen lymph nodes and your GP can't explain the cause. Your GP will also take into account any other symptoms you might have such as: high temperatures (fevers) night sweats.
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.
CT scans can show up swollen (enlarged) lymph nodes in your body. If you had a CT scan to help diagnose Hodgkin lymphoma, you won't need to have another one. But if you were diagnosed by lymph node biopsy alone, you'll have a CT scan to look for enlarged nodes in other parts of your body.
Stage 4 lymphoma means that cancer has spread to an organ external to the lymphatic system. The survival rates vary widely depending on an individual's risk factors and type of cancer. The survival rate of stage 4 lymphoma is lower than that of the other stages, but doctors can cure the condition in some cases.
Treatment for stage 1 Hodgkin lymphoma is usually 2 to 4 cycles of chemotherapy. You might also have radiotherapy.
Long-term survival with Hodgkin lymphoma is hard to estimate due to conditions like secondary cancers that may occur decades after treatment. However, between 15 years and 30 years after Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, people are more likely to die from an unrelated cause than from Hodgkin lymphoma.