Lymphoma is one of the most complicated and challenging cancers to diagnose.
The Committee requests CDC to develop an awareness campaign to educate patients and practitioners about the symptoms associated with lymphoma and the challenges of correctly diagnosing this complicated cancer. The Committee encourages the Veteran's Health Administration to expand its research portfolio on lymphoid malignancies. Recent studies prove that veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War have an increased risk of contracting Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Institute of Medicine's review committee on Agent Orange has also found an association between Agent Orange and the development of lymphoid malignancies. The Committee requests the VA to report to the Committee by its FY 2003 hearings on the Agency's current research portfolio on lymphoma and its future research agenda.