Woman, 45, Says Her Body Was ‘Whispering’ To Her With Subtle Odd Symptoms Like Fatigue & Discomforts She Dismissed Until Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis

Farrington described an overwhelming fatigue that crept in first. As a self-proclaimed busy mom, she chalked it up to parenting exhaustion. Then came the night sweats and relentless itching. She dismissed those symptoms too—blaming hormones and a possible reaction to her laundry detergent. But when she noticed swollen lymph nodes, the pieces began to fall into place.

“Those whispers were my body trying to tell me something bigger,” she added.

By the time she sought medical attention, Farrington was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma—a blood cancer that originates in lymphocytes, the immune system’s infection-fighting cells.

“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a big category,” Dr. Julie Vose, chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. All cases begin in lymphocytes, but doctors classify them based on whether they stem from B cells or T cells—each with different treatment paths.

WATCH: The type of lymphoma you have matters.

Now, months into her diagnosis, Farrington is using her platform to educate others about the disease’s elusive symptoms: fatigue, fever, swollen lymph nodes, rashes, and night sweats—many of which are easy to misinterpret.

“I wish I had listened sooner. If something feels off, don’t wait. Listening to your body can make a difference,” she said.

Her video sparked a wave of responses from fellow survivors and advocates. One TikTok user, KansasHuskerBleedsBlue, shared: “I never knew severe itching could be a sign of lymphoma. That was my first symptom. Months later, the other symptoms you had emerged, and I had a relentless cough. Even then, a doctor told me to come back in a month. Thankfully, I advocated for myself and was eventually diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Stage 4. I celebrated 30 years as a cancer survivor last November.”

Better Understanding Jessica’s Diagnosis

“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma encompasses a wide range of cancers,” Dr. Vose explains.

These lymphomas all originate in lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the immune system. From there, doctors classify the disease based on whether it arises from B cells or T cells, each with distinct characteristics and treatment approaches.
Knowing which of these you have can help steer you to the most appropriate treatment.

One way doctors divide up these cancers is based on how fast they’re likely to grow and spread. “The two main classifications I think of in terms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are lymphomas that are more indolent and those that are more aggressive because those are treated very differently,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the next question your doctor will want to answer is whether you have B-cell or T-cell lymphoma. That answer is important because it will help determine your treatment.

B-cells and T-cells are two kinds of lymphocytes. They’re both infection-fighting cells, but they work in different ways.

About 85% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas affect B cells. These cells produce antibodies, proteins that react to foreign substances like viruses or bacteria in your body. The antibodies attach to another protein on the surface of the invading cells, called an antigen, to target and destroy them.

Types of B-cell lymphoma include:

• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• Follicular lymphoma
• Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL)/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
• Mantle cell lymphoma
• Marginal zone lymphomas
• Burkitt lymphoma
• T-cell lymphomas make up only 15% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Unlike B-cells,
• T-cells directly destroy bacteria and other invaders.

Types of T-cell lymphoma include:

• T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia
• Peripheral T-cell lymphomas
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

What Treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Looks Like?

Lymphoma treatment largely depends on the nature of your specific diagnosis. For non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, their cancer is more likely to spread randomly and be discovered in different groups of lymph nodes in the body. Hodgkin lymphoma cancers, on the other hand, are more likely to grow consistently from one group of lymph nodes directly to another.

WATCH: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment options

“There are some lymphomas that are very treatable but not curable,” Dr. Lawrence Piro told SurvivorNet.

Dr. Lawrence Piro is the President and CEO of The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Los Angeles, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate. He adds that some lymphomas progress quickly if left untreated.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment depends on the type, stage, and how fast it grows. People with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma can expect to get a chemotherapy combination called R-CHOP, which is a drug cocktail consisting of chemotherapy drugs plus an antibody drug and a steroid to treat diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

R-CHOP stands for:

• R: Rituximab (Rituxan) is a monoclonal antibody that attaches to a specific protein called CD20, which sits on the surface of B cells. It targets cancerous cells and destroys them.
• C: Cyclophosphamide is a type of chemotherapy drug
• D: Doxorubicin hydrochloride (hydroxydaunomycin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• V: Vincristine sulfate (Oncovin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• P: Prednisone is a steroid that lowers inflammation

Patients receiving R-CHOP receive the drug in six cycles that are three weeks apart.

“R-CHOP is a cocktail of drugs. There are five different drugs in that recipe,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.

WATCH: Understanding R-CHOP treatment.

R-CHOP side effects can include:

• Tiredness and weakness
• Hair loss
• Mouth sores
• Bruising and bleeding
• Increased risk of infection
• Appetite loss and weight loss
• Changes in bowel movements

Immunotherapy and targeted therapy are also treatment options for non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

Rituximab (Rituxan) was the first immunotherapy drug approved to treat some forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “Rituximab is the immunotherapy that has been approved the longest, and we have the most experience with lymphoma,” Dr. Chong tells SurvivorNet.

Rituxan has side effects, including fever, chills, swelling under the skin, itching, and mild shortness of breath.

Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) is a relatively new targeted treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. This drug is an antibody-drug conjugate that combines an antibody (a type of protein that recognizes foreign substances in the body) with a drug that treats cancer. It uses a particular protein to deliver medicine directly to the cancer cell.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can also be treated with radiation, which aims beams of intense energy at the cancer to stop cancer cells from growing and dividing.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are dealing with a lymphoma diagnosis, it’s important to ask your doctor a series of questions so you will have an idea of what your next steps will look like. To help you during this difficult time, SurvivorNet has some questions to kickstart your conversation with your physician.

• What type of lymphoma do I have?
• What does my pathology report say about my diagnosis?
• Should I get a second opinion before I explore possible treatment options?
• Based on my diagnosis, what do you anticipate my treatment path?
• What common side effects should I expect when I begin treatment?
• Will I be able to continue working and performing normal daily activities during treatment?
• Where can I get help working with the insurance company regarding treatment costs?
• Who do you recommend I get mental health help from during my treatment?

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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