Lymphoma - symptoms, causes and treatment

Diagnosis of lymphoma > Cancerinformationandsupport > Lymphoma > Lymphoma Chooseatype Lymphoma -General DiffuselargeB-celllymphoma(DLBCL) Follicularlymphoma(FL) Mantlecelllymphoma Anaplasticlargecelllymphoma(ALCL) AngioimmunoblasticT-celllymphoma(AITL) BurkittLymphoma CutaneousT-celllymphoma(CTCL) Non-Hodgkinlymphoma(NHL) Hodgkinlymphoma(HL) Lymphoblasticlymphoma(LL) MALTlymphoma Nodalmarginalzoneb-celllymphoma(NMZl) Splenicmarginalzonelymphoma(SMZL) Waldenström'smacroglobulinaemia PeripheralT-celllymphoma,nototherwisespecified(PTCL-NOS) Smalllymphocyticlymphoma(SLL) PrimarymediastinallargeB-celllymphoma(PMBCL) PrimaryCNSlymphoma Onthispage Whatislymphoma? Symptomsoflymphoma Causesoflymphoma Diagnosisoflymphoma Stagingoflymphoma Lymphomatreatment Afterlymphomatreatment Aboutourinformation Howwecanhelp Righttherewithyou Answerfourquickquestionstogetspeciallyselectedcontentforyou. Getyourpersonalguide Whatislymphoma? Lymphomaisacancerofthelymphaticsystem. Therearetwomaintypesoflymphoma.Theydevelopandaretreatedindifferentways. Theyare: Hodgkinlymphoma non-Hodgkinlymphoma(NHL). Adoctorcanonlyfindoutyourlymphomatypebycollectingsomelymphomacellsandtestingtheminalaboratory. IfthesamplecontainsatypeofcellcalledReed-Sternbergcells,thelymphomaisusuallyHodgkinlymphoma.IftherearenoReed-Sternbergcells,itisnon-Hodgkinlymphoma.TherearemanydifferenttypesofNHL.  Wehavemoreinformationabouthowlymphomadevelops. Seealso Whatiscancer? RelatedStories&Media Booklets 01Mar2021 UnderstandingHodgkinlymphoma ThisbookletisaboutatypeofcancercalledHodgkinlymphoma.Itisforanyonewhoishavingtestsorhas... Booklets 01Mar2021 Understandingnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Thisbookletisaboutatypeofcancercallednon-Hodgkinlymphoma(NHL).Itisforanyonewhoishavingtests... Audiobooks 01Mar2021 Understandingnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Thisaudiobookisaboutatypeofcancercallednon-Hodgkinlymphoma(NHL).Itisforanyonewhohasbeen... Symptomsoflymphoma Themostcommonsymptomoflymphomaisapainlessswellinginthelymphnodesintheneck,armpitorgroin. Wehavemoreinformationaboutthesignsandsymptomsoflymphoma. Seealso DoIhavecancer? Causesoflymphoma Thecausesoflymphomaaremostlyunknown.Butsomethingsmayincreasetheriskofdevelopingit, suchashavinga weakenedimmunesystem. Thesearecalledriskfactors. Havingoneormoreoftheseriskfactorsdoesnotmeanyouwillgetlymphoma.Manypeoplewithlymphomadonothaveanyriskfactors. Wehavemoreinformationabout: thecausesandriskfactorsofHodgkinlymphoma  the causesandriskfactorsofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma. Diagnosisoflymphoma Ifyouhavesymptoms,youusuallystartbyseeingyourGP. Theymayarrangeforyoutohavebloodtestsorscans.Yourdoctorwillreferyoutohospitalfortestsandforspecialistadviceandtreatment. Atthehospital,thedoctorwillaskaboutanysymptoms,yourgeneralhealthandanyillnessesyouhavehad.Theywillalsoexamineyou. Ifyouthinkyoumaybepregnant,tellyourdoctor.Sometestsandtreatmentsforlymphomacanbeharmfultoababyinthewomb.Ifyouare pregnant youusuallystillhavetestsandtreatmentforlymphoma.Butitisimportanttotalktoyourdoctorsotheycanplanyourcaresafely. Biopsyforlymphoma Themostimportanttestfordiagnosinglymphomaisabiopsy.Adoctorornurseremoves asmallpieceoftissueorasampleofcellsfromtheaffectedarea.  Themostcommonplacetotakeabiopsyfromisanenlargedlymphnode.Youmayhaveallorpartofthelymphnoderemoved. Thetissueisexaminedunderamicroscopebyadoctorcalledapathologist.Theylookforlymphomacellsanddodifferenttestsonthecells. Youmayhavetowaitupto2weeksfortheresultsofthebiopsy. Furthertestsforlymphoma Youwillhavemoretestsbeforeyoustarttreatmentforlymphoma.Sometestshelptoshowthestageofthelymphoma. Youmayhaveothertests,suchasbloodtests orx-rays tocheckyourgeneralhealthandhowwellyourheart,lungs,liverandkidneysareworking. Forexample,yourdoctorwilldobloodteststocheckthelevelsofdifferentbloodcellsinyourblood.Theymayalsotalktoyouabouthavingbloodteststocheckforcertainviruses,suchasHIVandhepatitis. Informationfromtestshelpsyourdoctorsplanyourtreatmentsafelyandeffectively.Youmayhavesomeofthefollowingtests. CTscan ACTscan makesathree-dimensional(3D)pictureoftheinsideofthebodyusingx-raystakenbytheCTscanner. Ultrasound Anultrasoundusessoundwavestobuildupapictureofinternalorgans.Itcanbeusedtoguideabiopsy.Thescanhelpstoguidethemtotheexactarea. PETorPET-CTscan APET-CTscan useslow-doseradiationtochecktheactivityofcellsindifferentpartsofthebody. MRIscan AnMRIscan usesmagnetismtobuildupadetailedpictureofareasofyourbody. Bonemarrowsample Asmallsampleof bonemarrow istakenfromthebackofthehipbone(pelvis).Thesampleissenttoalaboratorytobecheckedforabnormalcells. Lumbarpuncture Insometypesofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma,thelymphomacellsmaygetintothefluidthatsurroundsthebrainandspinalcord.Youmayhavea lumbarpuncture totakeasampleofthisfluid.   Waitingfortestresultscanbeadifficulttime,wehavemoreinformationthatcanhelp. Seealso Goingfortests Justbeendiagnosed? Stagingoflymphoma Knowingtheextentofthelymphomahelpsyourdoctorplantherighttreatment.Thisiscalledstaging. Gradeofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Non-Hodgkinlymphomaisalsogroupedaseitherlowgradeorhighgrade.Lowgradelymphomasgrowveryslowly.Highgradelymphomasgrowmorequickly.ThegradeofNHLisimportantindecidingyourtreatment. Youcanfindoutmoreabout: thestagesofHodgkinlymphoma  thestagesandgradeofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma. Lymphomatreatment Ateamofspecialistswillmeettodiscussthebestpossibletreatmentforyou.Thisiscalledamultidisciplinaryteam(MDT). Yourdoctororcancerspecialistnursewillexplainthedifferenttreatmentsandtheirsideeffects.Theywillalsotalktoyouaboutthingstoconsiderwhenmakingtreatmentdecisions. Thetreatmentyouhavewilldependon: thetypeandstageofthelymphoma itsgrade(ifyouhavenon-Hodgkinlymphoma) thesymptomsyouhave whichpartsofyourbodyareaffected yourgeneralhealth yourpreferences. Youcanfindoutmoreabout: treatmentforHodgkinlymphoma treatmentfornon-Hodgkinlymphoma. Youmayhavesometreatmentsaspartofaclinicaltrial. Seealso Yourtreatmentoptions Gettingreadyfortreatment Afterlymphomatreatment Aftertreatment Youwillhaveregular follow-upappointments afteryourtreatment.Youcantalktoyourdoctorornurseaboutanyconcernsyoumayhaveattheseappointments.Yourdoctorwillwanttoknowhowyouarefeeling,andtocheckyouarerecoveringfromanysideeffectsoftreatment. Lateeffects Sometimessideeffectsmaycontinueordevelopmonthsoryearsaftertreatment.Thesearecalledlateeffects.Wehavemoreinformationabout long-termandlateeffectsoftreatmentforlymphoma. Sexlifeandfertility Canceranditstreatmentcansometimesaffectyoursexlife.Therearewaystoimproveyoursexualwell-beingandtomanageanyproblems. Treatmentforlymphomamayaffectyourfertility.Ifyouareworriedaboutyourfertilityitisimportanttotalkwithyourdoctorbeforeyoustarttreatment.Wehavemoreinformationabout: fertilityaftertreatmentforwomen fertilityaftertreatmentformen. Well-beingandrecovery Evenifyoualreadyhaveahealthylifestyle,youmaychoosetomakesomepositivelifestylechangesaftertreatment. Makingsmallchangessuchaseatingwellandkeepingactive canimproveyourhealthandwellbeingandhelpyourbodyrecover. Seealso Finishingtreatment Gettingsupport Macmillanisheretosupportyou.Ifyouwouldliketotalk,youcan: CalltheMacmillanSupportLine on08088080000.  Chattoourspecialistsonline.  VisitourHodgkinlymphomaforumorour non-Hodgkinlymphomaforumtotalkwithpeoplewhohavebeenaffectedbylymphoma,shareyourexperience,andaskanexpertyourquestions. Theorganisationsbelowalsoofferinformationandsupport: BloodCancerUK BloodCancerUK offerssupportandinformationtopeopleaffectedbybloodcancers,includinglymphoma. LymphomaAction LymphomaActiongivesemotionalsupport,adviceandinformationforpeoplewithHodgkinlymphomaornon-Hodgkinlymphomaandthoseclosetothem.Ithasanationalnetworkofpeoplewithlymphoma,aswellaslocalgroups.Theirwebsitehasasectioncalledtrialslinkwhereyoucanseeinformationaboutlymphomaclinicaltrials. Aboutourinformation References Belowisasampleofthesourcesusedinourlymphomainformation.Ifyouwouldlikemoreinformationaboutthesourcesweuse,[email protected] NationalInstituteofHealthandCareExcellence(NICE).Bloodandbonemarrowcancers.NICEPathways.Lastaccessed3December2020. Hodgkinlymphoma:ESMOClinicalPracticeGuidelinesfordiagnosis,treatmentandfollow-up;EuropeanSocietyforMedicalOncology(2018). Non-Hodgkin’slymphoma:diagnosisandmanagement;NICEGuideline(July2016). NewlyDiagnosedandRelapsedFollicularLymphoma:ESMOClinicalPracticeGuidelinesfordiagnosis,treatmentandfollow-up;EuropeanSocietyforMedicalOncology(2020). Reviewers Thisinformationhasbeenwritten,revisedandeditedbyMacmillanCancerSupport’sCancerInformationDevelopmentteam.Ithasbeenreviewedbyexpertmedicalandhealthprofessionalsandpeoplelivingwithcancer.IthasbeenapprovedbySeniorMedicalEditor,ProfessorRajnishGupta,MacmillanConsultantMedicalOncologist. OurcancerinformationhasbeenawardedthePIFTICK.CreatedbythePatientInformationForum,thisqualitymarkshowswemeetPIF’s10criteriafortrustworthyhealthinformation. Printpage Howwecanhelp MacmillanCancerSupportLine TheMacmillanSupportLineoffersconfidentialsupporttopeoplelivingwithcancerandtheirlovedones.Ifyouneedtotalk,we'lllisten. 08088080000Everyday8am-8pm EmailusGetintouchviathisform ChatonlineEveryday8am-8pm OnlineCommunityAnanonymousnetworkofpeopleaffectedbycancerwhichisfreetojoin.Shareexperiences,askquestionsandtalktopeoplewhounderstand. HelpinyourareaWhat'sgoingonnearyou?Findoutaboutsupportgroups,wheretogetinformationandhowtogetinvolvedwithMacmillanwhereyoulive. Gethelp Reviewed:01March2021Reviewed:01/03/2021|Nextreview:01March2024Nextreview:01/03/2024