Hematologic Malignancies Program

Patient and Family Education

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Symptoms and Diagnosis

The symptoms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma vary, depending on the location of the tumor in the lymph system. The most common symptom is painless swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin.

Other symptoms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma include:

fever
night sweats
tiredness
weight loss without dieting
itchy skin

A person experiencing any of these symptoms should see a doctor.

The doctor will carefully check for swelling or lumps in the neck, underarms, and groin. If the lymph nodes don't feel normal, the doctor may need to cut out a small piece and look at it under the microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. This procedure is called a biopsy. The doctor may also order blood tests or x-rays. However, biopsy is the only definitive way to diagnose cancer.

This page was last updated on: October 7, 2009.