Lymphoma Symptoms: How to Recognize Them Early

Noticing Something Was Wrong

The first signs that something was not right came gradually. I began feeling increasingly tired all the time, no matter how much I rested. At first I attributed it to stress or perhaps coming down with a persistent cold. But when the fatigue persisted for weeks, I knew there must be some other underlying cause.

Unexplained Fevers

In addition to the fatigue, I began running low-grade fevers in the evenings. My temperature would spike to around 100 or 101 degrees, then recede by morning. These fevers came randomly and did not appear connected to any illness or infection. They left me feeling chilled, achy, and wiped out.

I took over the counter medications to control the fevers, but they continued occurring periodically. My body felt like it was fighting some mysterious invader, though all my tests for flu, viruses, etc. came back negative.

Swollen Lymph Nodes

The third warning sign appeared when I discovered swollen lymph nodes in my neck. At first I felt just one lump, roughly the size of a marble, under the skin below my jaw. Within days, I found several more swollen nodes along my neck, under my arms, and in my groin. They did not hurt, but I could clearly feel their firm, rubbery texture when pressing on them.

Lymph nodes swell as they fight infection, so my first thought was that my body was responding to some kind of pathogen. But I had no other symptoms typically associated with illness. Just the unexplained fevers, extreme fatigue, and now the swollen lymph nodes scattered across my body.

Seeking a Lymphoma Diagnosis

Based on my constellation of vague, seemingly disconnected symptoms, my doctor suggested I undergo some blood tests and imaging scans. I truly did not expect these tests to reveal anything serious, assuming maybe I had mono or some low-level infection my body was fighting off in an unusual way. The possibility of lymphoma honestly did not even cross my mind.

Blood Tests and PET Scan

The doctor ran a complete blood count, as well as tests to check my liver, kidney, and thyroid function. Most came back normal, though my white blood cell count was slightly elevated. To investigate further, I underwent a CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis. This revealed clearly enlarged lymph nodes above and below my diaphragm.

My doctor recommended a PET scan at this point, to check if the swollen lymph nodes were cancerous. For this scan, I received an injection of a radioactive glucose solution. Malignant lymph nodes take up more of this glucose than normal cells do. A special camera tracks where the solution accumulates to pinpoint suspicious areas of cancerous cells.

My PET scan lit up brightly in my chest, abdomen, and neck regions wherever swollen lymph nodes had shown up on my CT scans. This indicated a very high level of metabolic activity consistent with lymphoma. To confirm the diagnosis completely, my doctor recommended a surgical biopsy.

Lymph Node Biopsy

A biopsy involves removing a small piece of tissue and examining it under a microscope for malignancy. By analyzing how the cells look and behave, doctors can definitively diagnose certain cancers like lymphoma. For my biopsy, the surgeon extracted one of the enlarged lymph nodes from my neck.

The biopsy confirmed that I had lymphoma. Further lab tests on the tissue identified the specific subtype as Hodgkin lymphoma. This cancer originates from white blood cells called lymphocytes. It causes lymph nodes and other immune tissues to grow abnormally. While any lymph nodes can be affected, Hodgkin lymphoma often starts in the upper body lymph nodes.

Understanding My Diagnosis

Being diagnosed with lymphoma at 33 years old felt shocking and surreal at first. But it made sense of my escalating symptoms over previous months. My doctor reassured me that Hodgkin lymphoma is highly treatable, especially when caught at an early stage as mine had been.

Learning Its Early Warning Signs

Looking back, it is clear my fatigue was an early signal from my body that something was wrong. I wrongly chalked it up to work stress and lack of sleep initially. But extreme, persistent tiredness is actually one of the most common early red flags of lymphoma.

The fevers were also an important clue my immune system was overreacting, suggestive of cancer. Many other viral and bacterial illnesses can cause fever, so it did not set off immediate alarms for me. But low-grade evening temps do warrant investigation when they happen for unknown reasons.

As soon as I felt the rubbery swollen lymph nodes, I realized I truly needed medical testing. Lymphoma and other cancers often activate lymph nodes like that early in their development. So I am grateful I had the self-awareness to recognize enlarged nodes could mean something more serious. Catching them when they were painless and limited in number gave me the best outlook.

Understanding Staging and Prognosis

Based on my diagnostic results, doctors staged my Hodgkin lymphoma as stage 2. This means the disease so far exists only in lymph node regions above and below my diaphragm. It has not affected other parts of my body or bone marrow yet.

Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma has a very good prognosis when treated aggressively with chemotherapy and radiation. In more than 90% of cases, this achieves complete remission for at least several years. The key is starting therapy quickly before the disease spreads or becomes resistant to treatment.

My doctors explained that Hodgkin lymphoma is highly curable overall, even in later stages. So while the diagnosis initially frightened me, I try to focus on the excellent chances modern medicine gives me. All I can do is control the aspects of health within my power and trust my care team to treat the disease.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.