Symptoms

People with NHL may experience the following symptoms. Sometimes, people with NHL do not show any of these symptoms. Or, these symptoms may be caused by a medical condition that is not cancer. If you are concerned about a symptom on this list, please talk with your doctor.

The symptoms of NHL depend on where the cancer starts and the organ that is involved.

General symptoms:

• Enlarged lymph nodes in the abdomen, groin, neck, or underarms
  
  
• Enlarged spleen or liver
  
  
• Fever that cannot be explained by an infection or other illness
  
  
• Weight loss with no known cause
  
  
• Sweating and chills

Examples of symptoms related to tumor location:

• Tumors in the abdomen can cause a distended (stretched) belly or pain.
  
  
• A tumor in the center of the chest pressing on the windpipe can cause difficulty breathing or other respiratory problems.

The doctor may use certain symptoms to help describe the disease, called Staging. Each stage may be subdivided into "A" and "B" categories.

A means that an individual did not experience B symptoms, listed below.

B means that an individual experienced the following symptoms:

• Unexplained weight loss of more than 10% of original body weight during the six months before diagnosis
  
  
• Unexplained fever with temperatures above 38º C (100.4º F)
  
  
• Drenching night sweats. Most patients report that either their nightclothes or the sheets on the bed are actually wet. Sometimes, heavy sweating occurs during the day.