Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops when white blood cells called lymphocytes grow out of control. Lymphoma may not always cause symptoms in its early stages. Instead, a doctor may discover enlarged lymph nodes during a physical examination. These may feel like small, soft nodules under the skin.

Likewise, many of the symptoms of early lymphoma are not specific. That makes them easy to overlook. These common early symptoms of lymphoma include: bone pain, cough, enlarged spleen, itchy rash, rash in skin folds, and stomach pain among others.

Lymphoma treatments depend upon the cancer’s stage. Doctors will “stage” a tumor to signify how far the cancerous cells may have spread. A stage 1 tumor is limited to a few lymph nodes, while a stage 4 tumor has spread to other organs, such as the lungs or bone marrow.