What is lymphoma?

• A quick guide to what's on this page
• What is lymphoma?
• Where in the body do you get NHL?
• What happens to your body when you get lymphoma?
• B cell and T cell NHL
• Non Hodgkin's lymphoma in children
• Help and support with NHL

Lymphoma means a cancer of the lymphatic system. There are two main types of lymphoma

• Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Non Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

Hodgkin's lymphoma was named after the doctor who first recognised it. It used to be called Hodgkin's disease. The cells of Hodgkin's lymphoma have a particular appearance under the microscope. Lymphoma cells that do not look this way are non Hodgkin's lymphoma.

It is important for doctors to be able to tell the difference between Hodgkin's and non Hodgkin's cells. They are two different diseases. And although they are very similar in many ways, the treatment for them is not quite the same.

Remember - if you are looking for information about Hodgkin's lymphoma, this is not the right section of CancerHelp UK for you. This section is only about non Hodgkin's lymphoma in adults.

Because the lymphatic system runs all through the body, you can get non Hodgkin's lymphoma just about anywhere. The most common place for it to be noticed first is in the lymph nodes in the neck. It is quite common to find it in the liver or spleen. But it can occur in other body organs as well.

For example, it can occur in the stomach, small bowel, bones, brain, testicles or skin. Lymphoma can also affect the eye - there is information about this in the eye cancer section. About one person in 3 with NHL has some lymphoma in an organ outside the lymphatic system and it is then called extranodal disease.

Remember - most types of cancers can spread to the lymph nodes. But this is not lymphoma. For example, the lymph nodes in the armpits are a common place for breast cancer to spread. If breast cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, that does not mean that the person now has lymphoma. The cancer cells that have spread to the lymph nodes are still breast cancer cells, and are treated as breast cancer.

If you have lymphoma, some of your white blood cells (lymphocytes) are working overtime. They are 'out of control'. The lymphocytes start to divide abnormally. They do not have any 'resting' time like normal cells and start to divide continuously. And they do not naturally die off as they usually do.

The big problem is that these cells start to divide before they are fully mature. This makes them unable to fight infection as normal white blood cells do. So, all these abnormal, useless lymphocytes start to collect in the lymph nodes. They can then grow into tumours and begin to cause problems within the lymphatic system or the organ in which they are growing. For example, if a lymphoma starts in the thyroid gland it can affect the normal production of thyroid hormones.

There are several different types of non Hodgkin's lymphoma. They can be classified in several different ways. One way is by the type of cell affected. Non Hodgkin's lymphoma affects certain white blood cells called ' lymphocytes'. Two types of lymphocyte can be affected - B cells and T cells. So, you can have a B cell lymphoma or a T cell lymphoma. Most people with NHL have B cell lymphomas. T cell lymphomas are more common in teenagers and young adults. Look at the page called types of non Hodgkin's lymphoma for more infomation about the different types.

Non Hodgkin's lymphoma in children is not treated quite the same as in adults. So while some of the information here will be useful, you need to be careful. Check the information with your doctor to find out which sections apply to you and your child.

If you would like more information about any aspect of non Hodgkin's lymphoma, contact one of the cancer information organisations on the NHL organisations list. They will be happy to help. They often have free factsheets and information which they can send to you. There are also books and booklets available about non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Some of these are also free. Look in the NHL reading list.