Can you have lymphoma for years without knowing?

Can you have lymphoma for years without knowing?

These grow so slowly that patients can live for many years mostly without symptoms, although some may experience pain from an enlarged lymph gland. After five to 10 years, low-grade disorders begin to progress rapidly to become aggressive or high-grade and produce more severe symptoms.

Is leukemia worse than lymphoma?

The main difference is that leukemia affects the blood and bone marrow, while lymphomas tend to affect the lymph nodes. Though there are some similarities between the two types of cancer, their causes and origins, symptoms, treatment, and survival rate are different.

Where do you itch with lymphoma?

Pruritus (itching) is a common symptom of some types of lymphoma, especially Hodgkin lymphoma and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (a type of skin lymphoma). It is less common in most other types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We don't yet fully understand what causes itching as a symptom of lymphoma.

Can blood test detect lymphoma?

There are few blood tests that clearly indicate lymphoma. … A CBC can determine if the platelet count and/or white blood cell count are low, which may indicate that lymphoma is present in the bone marrow and/or blood. Bone marrow biopsy and examination – used to evaluate the cells present in the bone marrow.

Can an ultrasound detect lymphoma?

If lymphoma is diagnosed, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, lumbar puncture, chest x-ray, body CT, PET, bone scan, body MRI or abdominal ultrasound may be used to look for enlarged lymph nodes throughout the body and determine whether the lymphoma has spread.