Sometimes, people with follicular lymphoma have no symptoms for many years and do not need treatment. In other people, treatment may be required for symptoms. Examples of symptoms that may lead to treatment include fever, night sweats, weight loss, pain, blockage of organs, and anemia or other changes in blood counts.
Full Answer
Can you have follicular lymphoma without any symptoms?
Some people with follicular lymphoma don’t have any symptoms at all. To diagnose follicular lymphoma, your doctor may perform the following tests: Biopsy. A biopsy is done to examine tissue under a microscope and determine if it’s cancerous.
What is follicular lymphoma and how is it treated?
Follicular lymphoma is a very slow-growing cancer that may appear in your lymph nodes, your bone marrow and other organs. There are ways to treat follicular lymphoma, but the condition often returns.
What is the life expectancy of someone with follicular lymphoma?
Half of the patients diagnosed with this type of cancer can live for approximately 10 to 12 years. With radiation therapy, patients with stage I follicular lymphoma are likely to get cured.
What is the difference between Hodgkin's and follicular lymphoma?
There are two types of lymphomas: Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's, based on the kind of white blood cell they affect. Follicular lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. When you have follicular lymphoma, the sick blood cells can travel to many parts of your body, such as your organs, bone marrow,...
What happens if you don't treat follicular lymphoma?
Transformation: Follicular lymphoma can change or transform into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This is a more aggressive cancer that typically causes new and more significant symptoms, including spreading cancer into other areas of your body.
How long can you live with untreated follicular lymphoma?
Below are the 5-year relative survival rates for two common types of NHL - diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL) - based on people diagnosed between 2011 and 2017....Follicular lymphoma.SEER Stage5-Year Relative Survival RateLocalized97%Regional91%Distant86%All SEER stages combined90%Mar 2, 2022
Can you live with lymphoma without treatment?
High-Grade Lymphoma Without treatment, these can progress rapidly regardless of stage. They are treated aggressively. With treatment, between 50 to 75 percent of patients enter remission. Those who stay in remission one year can look forward to a life free from recurrence.
How long can you live without treating lymphoma?
The survival rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is generally lower than that of Hodgkin's lymphoma, but it's still often curable. The American Cancer Society reports an overall 5-year relative survival rate of 72 percent ....10-year survival rate.StageRelative 10-year survival ratedistant55.4%overall64.4%2 more rows•Feb 28, 2022
Can follicular lymphoma go away without treatment?
Although follicular lymphoma usually can't be cured, you can live long and well with it. This cancer grows slowly. You may not need treatment for many years, or ever. But if you do, it usually works well.
What causes death in follicular lymphoma?
The leading cause of death for patients with follicular lymphoma was the disease itself, despite gains in survival due to rituximab treatment.
What are the final stages of lymphoma?
Stage 4. Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of lymphoma. Lymphoma that has started in the lymph nodes and spread to at least one body organ outside the lymphatic system (for example, the lungs, liver, bone marrow or solid bones) is advanced lymphoma.
Can lymphoma go into remission without treatment?
How long does remission last? Hodgkin lymphoma and high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma often goes into complete remission and needs no further treatment. However, some people relapse and need more treatment.
How long can you live with follicular lymphoma?
Follicular lymphoma is slow-growing cancer. People diagnosed with the disease may not find a cure but can still live for a long time with it. The five-year survival rate for follicular lymphoma is 80-90% with patients surviving for a median of 10-12 years.
Can you treat lymphoma without chemo?
Other options for DLBCL that is no longer responding to chemo might include some type of immunotherapy (such as CAR T-cell therapy or a monoclonal antibody) or a targeted therapy drug such as selinexor (Xpovio). Clinical trials of new treatments may be another good option for some people.
How do you beat lymphoma naturally?
Between 70 percent and 90 percent of people with lymphoma use natural treatments that are not typical of mainstream medical care. These treatment options most often include massage and relaxation techniques — but they may also include special diets, herbs, and probiotics.
How do you feel when you have lymphoma?
Common symptoms of having lymphoma include swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, in your armpits or your groin. This is often but not always painless and often could be associated with fevers, or unexplained weight loss, or drenching night sweats, sometimes chills, persistent fatigue.
How long does follicular lymphoma stay free?
Studies show it works as well as early treatment. After treatment, many people stay disease-free for years, although the cancer usually returns. Over time, 30% to 40% of follicular lymphomas behave like or turn into other forms of lymphoma that grow faster and need intensive treatment. Radiation.
How much of follicular lymphoma grows faster?
Over time, 30% to 40% of follicular lymphomas behave like or turn into other forms of lymphoma that grow faster and need intensive treatment. If you do need treatment, it may include one or more of the following: Radiation.
What type of lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?
There are two types of lymphomas: Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's, based on the kind of white blood cell they affect. Follicular lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. When you have follicular lymphoma , the sick blood cells can travel to many parts of your body, such as your organs, bone marrow, and lymph nodes (pea-sized glands in your neck, groin, ...
What is the best treatment for lymphoma?
If it's advanced, you may get other treatments as well. Monoclonal antibodies. These are drugs that act like your body's disease-fighting cells. For most people, rituximab ( Rituxan) and obinutuzumab ( Gazyva) works well to kill lymphoma cells while doing little damage to normal body tissues.
How to know if you have a swollen lymph node?
If you do have symptoms, you may have: 1 Painless swelling of the lymph nodes in your neck, groin, stomach, or armpits 2 Shortness of breath 3 Fatigue 4 Night sweats 5 Weight loss
What test can you do to see if you have follicular lymphoma?
If it shows that you have follicular lymphoma, your doctor will want to do other tests. These may include blood tests and: Bone marrow test. Your doctor will take samples of your bone marrow, usually from the back of your hip bone. For this test, you lie down on a table and get a shot that will numb the area.
What is the procedure to remove lymph nodes?
Doctors call this a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. This is usually an "outpatient" procedure, which means you don't need to stay overnight in a hospital.
What is follicular lymphoma?
Overview. Follicular lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells of your body. There are two main forms of lymphoma: Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin. Follicular lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This type of lymphoma typically grows slowly, which doctors call “indolent.”.
What is the survival rate for follicular lymphoma?
The five-year survival rate for people with follicular lymphoma who are low risk (have no or only one poor prognostic factor) is about 91 percent. For those with intermediate risk (two poor prognostic factors), the five-year survival rate is 78 percent. If you’re high-risk (three or more poor prognostic factors), ...
What is the best medicine for follicular lymphoma?
Monoclonal antibodies are medicines that target particular markers on tumors and help your immune cells fight the cancer. Rituximab (Rituxan) is a monoclonal antibody that’s commonly used to treat follicular lymphoma. It’s typically given as an IV infusion at your doctor’s office and is often used in combination with chemotherapy.
How common is non-Hodgkin lymphoma?
Incidence. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in the United States. More than 72,000 people are diagnosed with a form of it each year. About one in every five lymphomas in the United States is a follicular lymphoma. Follicular lymphoma rarely affects young people.
What is the best way to test for lymphoma?
Blood test. You may need a test to check your blood cell counts. Imaging scan. Your doctor may suggest you have an imaging scan to see the lymphoma in your body and to plan your treatment.
What to do if you are diagnosed early?
Watchful waiting. If you’re diagnosed early and have only a few symptoms, your doctor might suggest that you watch and wait. This means your healthcare provider will keep a watchful eye on your condition, but you won’t receive any treatment yet.
Can follicular lymphoma go back?
Even though this remission can last for years, follicular lymphoma is considered a lifelong condition. This cancer can come back , and sometimes, people who relapse don’t respond to treatment.
Maintenance Therapy
This is a treatment you can get once you're in remission. Maintenance therapy involves taking medicines to kill any cancer cells that are still in your body. It helps to keep you in remission for longer.
Follow-Up Visits
After you finish treatment, your doctor will tell you what comes next. Together, you'll create a care plan that will include regular checkups to monitor your health and cancer status.
How does follicular lymphoma therapy work?
The therapy reprograms a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and kill cancer. Most people with follicular lymphoma are treated to keep the lymphoma under control, rather than to cure it. The disease can usually be kept at bay for many years with several courses of treatment.
What type of lymphoma did Maribeth have?
A biopsy revealed Maribeth had follicular lymphoma, a type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in the body’s immune system. Follicular lymphoma symptoms may include a lump in the armpit, neck or groin, caused by cancerous immune cells that build up in lymph nodes and cause swelling.
Is follicular lymphoma an advanced disease?
By this time, the disease has reached an advanced stage. “‘Advanced’ can sound sound alarming,” Lee says, “but most people with follicular lymphoma are at an advanced stage when they are diagnosed. There are many effective treatments for all stages of the disease, and these can usually control it for many years, even decades.”.
Does follicular lymphoma spread?
By the time follicular lymphoma is diagnosed, it has usually spread beyond the lymphatic system to other places in the body. Because it typically grows very slowly, the disease often is advanced by the time symptoms appear. Most people have no symptoms, and therefore don’t visit a doctor, which gives follicular lymphoma time to spread.
How long can you wait to get treatment for NHL?
"About half of all patients can put off treatment for at least 3 years," Abetti says. "Some patients can be in watch-and-wait mode for 10 years or more .". It's possible you'll never need treatment.
Can you wait to get treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?
It's an approach called "watch and wait," and it might be a choice for you if you don't have any pain or other symptoms. Your doctor will keep a close eye on your disease, and they won't start treatment ...
Can you wait to see a doctor for lymphoma?
Also, if you aren't very good about visiting your doctor, watch and wait may not be a good choice. If you wait too long to set up an appointment, your lymphoma may get worse. Pagination. 1.
Is it hard to accept that you're not actively treating your cancer?
There's a risk that your cancer may change to a fast-growing type. It may also be hard to accept that you're not actively treating your cancer. Tsai says many of his patients struggle with this, but they feel better when they learn that watch and wait is an accepted strategy.
Can you wait to see your doctor if you have a slow growing NHL?
Also, if you aren't very good about visiting your doctor, watch and wait may not be a good choice.