Over the past several years, Lymphoma Canada received feedback from our Scientific Advisory Board, made up of hematologists/oncologists from across Canada that lymphoma patients are diagnosed at later and later stages of disease.
Most Canadians rely on their primary care physician to be educated in all medical areas and to ensure all symptoms are diagnosed early, considering they are often the first point of contact for patients with undiagnosed health concerns. Although, general practitioners have a substantial mental library of medical information, lymphoma is regrettably often misdiagnosed throughout Canada, despite being the fifth most common cancer in Canada. An early diagnosis of lymphoma is important as catching cancer earlier often allows for more treatment options and for a better prognosis for lymphoma patients.
In Canada, there is no unified national guideline for the diagnosis of lymphoma amongst general practitioners. This guide aims to assist general practitioners in ensuring a timelier diagnosis of lymphoma by:
- Raising awareness on the rising lymphoma incidence and mortality rates in Canada
- Drawing attention to common clinical presentations of lymphoma
- Presenting a generalized easy-to-follow algorithm for diagnosis
We thank our many lymphoma specialists that were involved in the review and development of this Algorithm.
