Recognizing the Subtle Signs of Lymphoma: Understanding Symptoms for Early Detection

There was a time that Foster Moreau, NFL player announced that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and in his statement, he wasn't aware of any symptoms prior to the diagnosis by the doctor and the lymphoma was discovered during a routine physical examination at New Orleans Saints hospital but just like Foster, there are a lot of people who would not see any syptoms before being diagnosed of lymphoma.

This isn't because there were possibly no symptoms but rather because these symptoms can be brushed off sine they do not look serious and it is even more difficult for men to be diagnosed as they often do not want to bother their family about their health thereby leading to under reports of symptoms in men compared to women. You would be so surprised at how many men come to the hospital because their wives noticed certain health changes and forced them to come to the hospital.

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With lymphoma, it is very easy to brushout the red flags even when they are visible not to talk of the ones that are less concerning. To start with, Lymphoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the white blood cells (lymphocyte) of the immune system. When the word lymphoma is mentioned, it will either be Hodgkin's (which is about 10%), or non-hodgkin's lymphoma (90%).

Similar to other types of cancers, the cause is still yet to be known, but trust that science will find risk factors that can cause diseases before they are able to find the casuse and so, the risk factors for lymphoma will include Compromised immune system, infections like Epstein-Barr virus, Exposure to radiation or certain chemicals, and family history. When we talk about Hodgkin's lymphoma, we need to state that it is common in people within the age 20 and 40 years old and is common men.

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The first symptom that a lot of people will neglect or throw away is fatigue. Someone with lymphoma might begin to fell weak and tired often but then, what is being tired when the body needs rest everytime would always come to thought but this isn't normal. Fatigue in lymphomia patient will occur when the cancer cells multiply and over populate the normal red blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to anemia.

Over time, the person can begin to have fever unusually and this is because the immune system begin to react to the cancer cells in the body as a result releasing interleuking and cytokines but then, this is usually quicky discarded by the patient. The patient can even sweat heavily at night and as much as this is common with infection, autoimmune diseases, heart attack, and panic attacks, it is also associated with cancer as the body ramps up immune response to the cancer.

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Then the patient can begin to notice weight loss as a result of the body using up more energy to fight the cancer, and as a result of loss of apetite but then, the thought of being on a diet might come up, or maybe recent changes in routine was the cause, so the person thinks, and they throw off the symptom again.

Couple of weeks, and there is a swollen lymphnode in the neck, armpit or groin, and this nodes are not painful. These lymphnodes are firm, rubbery and non-tender when felt. Itchy skin is usually found in about 15% of people and can occur months or years before the diagnosis of the cancer.

Recognizing the subtle signs of lymphoma and seeking medical attention promptly can significantly improve outcomes. Awareness of these symptoms, especially among men, can lead to earlier detection and intervention, ultimately enhancing the chances of successful treatment and recovery.

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Reference

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https://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma
https://www.webmd.com/cancer/lymphoma/lymphoma-cancer
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/lymphoma
https://www.hematology.org/education/patients/blood-cancers/lymphoma
https://www.lls.org/lymphoma
https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/lymphoma
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/l/lymphoma.html
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/symptoms/