  What Are the Stages of Hodgkin Disease?  By using exams and
tests, a doctor can tell the stage of a person's Hodgkin
disease. The stage tells the doctor how much and how far the
disease has spread. Staging is 1 of the most important factors
in deciding what treatment to have for the disease.  The staging
system used most often for Hodgkin is the Cotswold's
Modification of the Ann Arbor staging system. The stage of a
person's lymphoma is indicated by Roman numerals I, II, III, and
IV.  The letter B is added if the person has any B symptoms
(fever, night sweats, weight loss). If a person does not have
these B symptoms, the letter A is added after the Roman numeral.
If the Hodgkin disease involves an organ outside the lymphatic
system, the letter E is added. If it involves the spleen, the
letter S may be added.  The letter X may be added if a person
has bulky disease. This means a tumor in the chest is at
least one-third as wide as the chest, or a tumor in another area
is at least 10 centimeters (about 4 inche