What are the symptoms of lymphoma in children?

Lymphoma most often causes one or more swollen lymph nodes, usually in the neck, underarm, or groin. These are painless. Lymphoma can also cause these symptoms:

• unexplained fever
• night sweats
• loss of appetite or weight loss
• coughing or difficulty breathing
• swelling in the belly (lymphomas in the chest or belly can grow very large before they cause symptoms)

Lymph nodes often swell in response to infection, and the other symptoms may have other causes. If your child has a lymph node that has become swollen for no apparent reason and remains enlarged, or if they have any of the other symptoms and those don’t go away, it’s a good idea to visit a doctor to find out why. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics for your child in case there is an infection. If the symptoms persist after the antibiotics are done, the doctor may recommend a more thorough evaluation of your child to find out what is causing them.