I have ALL the symptoms of nhl EXCEPT weight loss. Have NOT seen doctor yet. Could it be symptoms of another disease? What if I do nothing (I have no insurance)? What can I expect? Thanks for any info.

I wish you'd mentioned what those symptoms are, because outward symptoms of lymphoma are considered "non-specific" meaning they could be lymphoma or they could be lots of other lesser things or nothing at all or who knows what.

At any rate, lymphoma is a malignant disease. Period. That means that the end result generally means death. If some lymphomas reverse on their own, they're not well-known. We know that some breast and prostate cancers come and go, and maybe a subtype or two of lymphoma might, but once on its course and no intervention you can expect to succumb to it. If you're in your 60s and you have an indolent lymphoma, you'll probably die from something else. If you're young and have say Burkitt's lymphoma you could be dead in a few months.

Unfortunately, there's only one way to know if you have it or not and that's by way of biopsy of an excised node. Blood test, metabolic panels, don't diagnose. Clinical exams don't diagnose. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't find a way to get in to see a doctor, insurance or not. If you have the non-specific symptoms associated with lymphoma those are reason enough to go to a clinic, a free clinic or an ER or an urgent care clinic, get on a sliding scale and have a doctor check you out.