Do I Have Lymphoma?

I am concerned that I might have lymphoma. About 7 years ago, I went to the doc and my lower abdomen was swollen. He felt an enlarged groin lymph node and asked how long it had been there. I told him i didn't know. He seemed very concerned and sent me for a biopsy, but i don't think they got the right area because the person who biopsied wasn't sure what to biopsy.

At the time I was having unusual symptoms like a constant low grade fever (which lasted for about 2.5 years)I was exhaused all the time and lost weight. I went from my normal 106 pounds down to 95. It took 3 years to get back to 106 pounds again. I never had an explanation for that._My blood counts were also out of range, especially eosinophils. They are normal now except low iron stores. For the last 5 years, I have been extremely short of breath and have difficulty swallowing. My stomach swells up like a balloon on my left side like something is blocking it. I also developed food allergies, like my immune system is weak.

My doc now insists that the area is fat and not a lymph node or just my colon. Other docs say it is an enlarged lymph node. if I had Lymphoma would I know it after 7 years of symptoms? I'm 33 year old female. How do I convince my docs to check for something wrong?

Lymphoma can present that way. ask you doctor to do a blood test called beta-2 microglobulin - this is often elevated in lymphoma. If your insurance will pay for it (around $2000), a PET scan would be a good idea. Lymphoma and other cancers light up like a Christmas tree on a PET scan. If you have lymphoma, and since you have had symptoms for so long, there is a good chance the lymphoma has made its way to the bone marrow. Therefore, a bone marrow biopsy would not only confirm the diagnosis if positive, but it could be checked for CD20 receptor status. Rituxan is a great drug for lymphomas that are CD20 positive. Generally, bone marrow biopsies are done by oncologists, so ask your primary care doctor for a referral to one. They usually have a better track record for getting PET scan approval by insurance companies, so asking for a referral to an oncologist is not a bad idea at all.

There are lots of other things besides lymphoma that it could be. A consult with a gastroenterologist, an EGD, a colonoscopy, maybe a CT or MRI of your abdomen all would be a good idea.

Eosinophils usually mean you are being exposed to something you are allergic to. Low iron stores usually mean you are not replacing iron lost with menses, but can also mean bad things like gastrointestinal bleeding (polyp, ulcer, cancer etc) or bone marrow suppression. Shortness of breath can be due to the anemia, or heart disease, but if I had to guess, I would guess it is asthma since your eosinophils were elevated too at that time. Seeing an allergist for allergy skin testing is not a bad idea.

There are other things it could be, like autoimmune diseases, or metabolic diseases, like Wilson's disease, but I think a good start would be the things mentioned above.

Just my thoughts.
-Amnia