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Your doctor will likely ask you about your personal and family medical history. He or she may then have you undergo tests and procedures used to diagnose non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, including:
- Physical exam
- Blood and urine tests
- Imaging tests
- Lymph node test
- Bone marrow test
- Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)
Your doctor checks for swollen lymph nodes, including in your neck, underarm and groin, as well as for a swollen spleen or liver.
Blood and urine tests may help rule out an infection or other disease.
Your doctor may recommend a lymph node biopsy procedure to remove all or part of a lymph node for laboratory testing. Analyzing lymph node tissue in a lab may reveal whether you have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and, if so, which type.
A bone marrow biopsy and aspiration procedure involve inserting a needle into your hipbone to remove a sample of bone marrow. The sample is analyzed to look for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells.
If there's a concern that the lymphoma may affect the fluid around your spinal cord, your doctor might recommend a procedure to remove some of the fluid for testing. During a spinal tap, the doctor inserts a small needle into the spinal canal in your lower back.
Other tests and procedures may be used depending on your situation.