It rarely occurs younger and seldom older. This disease starts by producing fevers and night sweats without obvious cause. They may have painless enlarged nodes in the neck, arm-pith or groin. The abdomen may feel distended due to an enlarging spleen. The skin may be diffusely itchy and dermatologists cannot tell why.
Patients complain that when they drink alcohol, it hurts as it hits the stomach.
Patients may loose weight for no obvious reason. The diagnosis is made under a microscope. A lymph node needs to be biopsied, removed, processed and examined by an experienced pathologist. Once a diagnosis is made, the patient must next be staged. Staging tells how widespread the lymphoma is.