Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Signs and Symptoms

There is often pain and swelling at the site of the cancer. Other symptoms include:

• Abdominal bloating
• Change in bowel habits
• Fever
• Sweating, especially at night
• Weight loss

If the cancer is in the abdomen, the area can become very swollen, sometimes so much as to look like a pregnancy. When the cancer causes the lymph tissue near the kidney or intestines to swell, passage of urine or feces through that area can become blocked, causing abdominal pain.

If the chest is involved, the head and neck may swell and cause breathing difficulty. The large vein that carries blood from the head and arm back to the heart, called the superior vena cava or SVC, passes next to the thymus. Pressure on the SVC from the cancer can cause the head, arm and upper chest to turn a bluish-red color. This is known as SVC syndrome and can affect the brain and threaten your child's life. Children with SVC syndrome need immediate treatment.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.
Last updated February 7, 2012