Pay attention to painless swellings in the lymph node!
Swelling of the lymph nodes first of all brings to mind lymphoma among people. However, vast majority of swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck or anywhere in the body occurs for non-cancerous reasons. But it is vitally important to appeal a physician in presence of such swelling without loss of time. Prof.Dr. Hakan İsmail Sarı from Memorial Ataşehir Hospital, Department of Hematology gave information about lymphoma and its treatment.
Pay attention to these symptoms
Lymphoma is a type of cancer that begins in the cells of the lymphatic system. Lymph system is part of immune system that helps the body to fight with infections and diseases. https://www.memorial.com.tr/hastaliklar/lenfoma-belirtileri-ve-tedavisiThe most common symptom of lymphoma is swelling of the lymph node, in other words, growth of the lymph node. But it can also begin almost anywhere because the lymph tissue is located throughout the body. For this reason, the symptoms of the disease may vary depending on retained region and organ:
- Growth of the spleen
- Fever, night sweating and shortness of breath
- Weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss
- Pain especially in the bones and abdominal pain
- Persistent cough, persistent itching, and skin rashes
- Pain in the lymph nodes after alcohol consumption
- Frequently having infection is among the symptoms that can be seen in lymphoma.
Do not be afraid of swelling, but also pay attention to it.
lymph nodes with 1 cm size in the neck and 2 cm size in inguinal region are accepted as normal. In growth more than these sizes, lymphoma is a disease that must be considered. It is natural for the patients to worry about thinking about a malignant tumor in case of growths of lymph node in the neck or another region. But vast majority of such growths are due to non-cancerous causes. Swellings in the lymph nodes except for lymphoma are caused by; infection, autoimmune diseases resulted from immune system, certain drugs used, rheumatic diseases, and storage diseases resulted from accumulation of certain molecules within the cells forming lymphatic tissue. In case of swelling of the lymph nodes, it is necessary to contact the physician without loss of time and to determine the cause of the growth.
If the swelling in the lymph node does not cause pain
The fact that swelling of the lymph node is accompanied by pain worries patients more and more. However, pain in lymph node swellings is usually caused by infection. Vast majority of swellings in lymphoma is painless. Swellings, that occurs at the age of 40 and over, progresses painlessly, does not pass for weeks or months, are solid, are adherent to each other, are multiple and have rubbery consistence, increase the suspicion of lymphoma.
Treatment is planned according to the patient
There are certain standards in the treatment of lymphoma, there are many factors that must be paid attention when planning the treatment, including prevalence of the disease, its subtypes, some biological characteristics of the tumor and general health of the person. Therefore, it may be necessary to individualize the treatment according to each patient. https://www.memorial.com.tr/tedavi-yontemleri/kemoterapiIn the treatment of lymphoma; chemotherapy, target-specific therapies called smart molecules, and stem cell transplantation and radiotherapy treatments can be applied.
Prepared by the Medical Editorial Board. Our health library contents have been prepared for informational purposes only and with the scientific content on the registration date. For all your questions, concerns, diagnosis or treatment about your health, please consult your doctor or health institution.
