Lymph

Causes

Scientists don't know what causes lymphoma in most cases.

You might be more at risk if you:

Are in your 60s or older for non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Are between 15 and 40 or older than 55 for Hodgkin lymphoma

Are male, although certain subtypes may be more common in females

Have a weak immune system from HIV/AIDS, an organ transplant, or because you were born with an
immune disease

Have an immune system disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, lupus, or celiac
disease

Have been infected with a virus such as Epstein-Barr, hepatitis C, or human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
(HTLV-1)

Have a close relative who had lymphoma

Were exposed to benzene or chemicals that kill bugs and weeds

Were treated for Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the past

Were treated for cancer with radiation

Symptoms

Warning signs of lymphoma include:

Swollen glands (lymph nodes), often in the neck, armpit, or groin that are painless

Cough

Shortness of breath
Fever

Night sweats

Fatigue

Weight loss

Itching

Many of these symptoms can also be warning signs of other illnesses. See your doctor to find out for
sure if you have lymphoma.

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Getting a Diagnosis

Before you have any tests, your doctor will want to know:

How have you been feeling?

When did you first notice changes?

Do you have pain? Where?

How is your appetite?

Have you lost any weight?

Do you feel tired or weak?

What are your current medical problems and treatments?

What is your past medical history including conditions and treatments?

What is your family medical history?

Your doctor will do a physical exam, including a check for swollen lymph nodes. This symptom doesn't
mean you have cancer. Most of the time, an infection -- unrelated to cancer -- causes swollen lymph
nodes.
You might get a lymph node biopsy to check for cancer cells. For this test, your doctor will remove all or
part of a lymph node, or use a needle to take a small amount of tissue from the affected node.

You might also have one of these tests to help diagnose, stage, or manage lymphoma:

Bone marrow aspiration or biopsy. Your doctor uses a needle to remove fluid or tissue from your bone
marrow -- the spongy part inside bone where blood cells are made -- to look for lymphoma cells.

Chest X-ray. It uses radiation in low doses to make images of the inside of your chest.

MRI. It uses powerful magnets and radio waves to make pictures of organs and structures inside your
body.

PET scan. It uses a radioactive substance to look for cancer cells in your body.

Molecular test. It looks for changes to genes, proteins, and other substances in cancer cells to help your
doctor figure out which type of lymphoma you have.

Blood tests. These check the number of certain cells, levels of other substances, or evidence of infection
in your blood.

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Questions for Your Doctor

What type of lymphoma do I have?

What stage is my lymphoma?

Have you treated people with this kind of lymphoma before?

What are my treatment options?

How will the treatments make me feel?

What will help me feel better during my treatment?

Are there any complementary treatments I could consider, along with the usual medical care? Are there
any I should avoid?

Treatment

The treatment you get depends on what type of lymphoma you have and its stage.
The main treatments for non-Hodgkin lymphoma are:

Chemotherapy, which uses drugs to kill cancer cells

Radiation therapy, which uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells

Immunotherapy, which uses your body's immune system to attack cancer cells

Targeted therapy that targets aspects of lymphoma cells to curb their growth

The main treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma are:

Chemotherapy

Radiation therapy

Immunotherapy

If these treatments don't work, you might have a stem cell transplant. First you'll get very high doses of
chemotherapy. This treatment kills cancer cells, but it also destroys stem cells in your bone marrow that
make new blood cells. After chemotherapy, you will get a transplant of stem cells to replace the ones
that were destroyed.

Two types of stem cell transplants can be done:

An autologous transplant uses your own stem cells.

An allogeneic transplant uses stem cells taken from a donor.

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Taking Care of Yourself

Lymphoma treatment can cause side effects. Talk to your medical team about ways to relieve any
symptoms you have.

Also ask your doctor about changes to your diet and exercise that can help you feel better during your
treatment. Ask a dietitian for help if you're not sure what types of food to eat. Exercises like walking or
swimming can relieve fatigue and help you feel better during treatments like chemotherapy and
radiation. You might also try alternative therapies like relaxation, biofeedback, or guided imagery to help
relieve pain.

What to Expect

Treatments have improved a lot, and many people do very well after treatment. Your doctor will talk to
you about a survivorship care plan. Your outlook depends on:

The kind of lymphoma you have

How far the cancer has spread

Your age

The type of treatment you get

What other health problems you have

Getting Support (Resources)

You can get support from people who have gone through this kind of illness.

Contact the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or Lymphoma Research Foundation to learn more.

WebMD Medical Reference

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD on February 04, 2018

Sources

© 2018 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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