Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Main symptom

• A painless swelling in the lymph nodes in one area of the body, for example, in your neck, armpit or groin. These lumps may come and go.
• People with low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma may have few or no symptoms. 

Other symptoms (known as B symptoms)

• Night sweats – these can be drenching
• High temperatures or fevers
• Loss of appetite
• Unexplained weight loss
• Feeling tired all the time (fatigue)
• Itchy skin
• Skin rash

You can have lymphoma diagnosed in other areas of your body, for example, your stomach, bowel, skin or brain. In these cases the symptoms can be quite different. For example:

• Lymphoma in your bowel or stomach: Abdominal (tummy) pain, diarrhoea or indigestion
• Lymphoma in your chest area: Cough or difficulty swallowing
• Lymphoma in your skin: Rough, red patches of skin

Testing for cancer when you have no symptoms is called screening. There is no non-Hodgkin lymphoma screening programme. This is because there have been no tests proven to help predict non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

If you are worried about lymphoma, contact your family doctor (GP).