DIAGNOSIS
Your doctor will start by examining your body, particularly the regions where there are lymph nodes. He or she will likewise examine your medical history and get some information about symptoms.
The following laboratory tests may be ordered:
- Tissue biopsy
- Blood tests
- Bone marrow biopsy
- Computerized tomography scan
- Gallium scan
- Positron emission tomography scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging
- Ultrasound scan
- Lumbar puncture
- Gastroscopy
- Colonoscopy
These tests can show whether tumor cells have spread to different parts of the body. Discovering where the malignancy is in your body is called staging. This enables your specialists to work out the best treatment for you.
In Stage 1 lymphoma, growth is found in just a single lymph node zone or one zone/organ outside the lymph nodes.
In Stage 2, cancer is found in at least two lymph node regions on a similar side of the body. Tumor is found in one region/organ outside the lymph nodes and in the lymph nodes around it. Other lymph node zones on a similar side of the body might be included.
In Stage 3, growth is found in lymph node zones on the two sides of the body. It might have spread to a zone/organ close to the lymph node zone, or to the spleen, or both.
In Stage 4, the cancer has spread in more than one area, inside or outside the lymphatic system (for instance, liver, lung, bone marrow or bone).
TREATMENT
The treatment you get relies upon what kind of lymphoma you have and its stage.
The principal treatments for non-Hodgkin lymphoma are:
- Chemotherapy, which utilizes medications to kill cancer cells
- Radiation treatment, which utilizes high-energy beams to kill cancer cells
- Immunotherapy, which utilizes your body’s immune system to assault cancer cells
- Targeted treatment that focuses on parts of lymphoma cells to control their growth
The primary treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma are:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation treatment
- Immunotherapy
If these treatments don’t work, a stem cell transplant may be recommended. First you’ll get high dosages of chemotherapy. This treatment kills tumor cells; however, it additionally demolishes stem cells in your bone marrow that make new cells. After chemotherapy, you will get a transplant of stem cells to supplant the ones that were damaged.