Patients with lymphoma can develop a range of symptoms depending on the subtype of lymphoma they have and how it affects specific organs or systems.
If you have lymphoma, you may have one or more — or none — of the following symptoms:
- Swollen lymph nodes that usually don't hurt (especially lymph nodes in the neck or armpit)
- Lymph nodes that swell rapidly
- Tumors that damage internal organs (leading to bone marrow, kidney, liver or heart failure, or one infection on top of another one)
- Swollen abdomen
- Chronic fevers without any known infection
- Drenching night sweats
- Feeling weak or tired
- Unexplained weight loss
- Skin abnormalities, including rash, plaques, papules, tumors or ulcers (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) that may look similar to psoriasis or dermatitis. They can appear on the buttocks, torso, face or areas of overlapping skin.
In general, the severity of your symptoms is related to how much disease is present or how fast the tumor is growing, and those factors are linked to the subtype of lymphoma you have. That’s why it is essential that your pathology and staging are accurate and precise, to ensure that your treatment plan is correct from the very beginning.