Former Queensland premier Anna Bligh battles non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is fifth-highest cancer NETWORK SYSTEM: Former Queensland premier Anna Bligh, seen here at Centennial Park in Sydney with her dog Zeddy, has found the support from Leukaemia Foundation invaluable. IT IS the fifth most-common cancer in the western world and its incidence is increasing. Yet very little is known about the complex cancer former Queensland premier Anna Bligh is battling - non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland director of support services Barbie Hartigan described non-Hodgkin lymphoma as a random cancer of the body's lymphatic system that could sometimes prove difficult to diagnose. "It's the fifth-highest cancer in the western world and it is increasing on a yearly basis - where other cancers are dropping off," Ms Hartigan said. It's not like lung or other cancers. It's something you can't prevent. There are at the moment probably between 40 and 60 different types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is also classified as a blood cancer, Ms Hartigan said, with symptoms generally including tiredness, flu-like symptoms, night sweats and fevers. "Sometimes if they (the lymph nodes) are cancerous they will enlarge and they can enlarge very rapidly," she said. Sometimes it can be difficult to diagnose because you can have similar sorts of symptoms if you've got glandular fever, if you've got a bad virus or a flu. They (the symptoms) can go away and come back again. And sometimes people present with lumps in the neck or in the groin. Depending on an individual's case, patients in Australia have a 71 per cent chance of surviving five years with chemotherapy generally the main treatment used. Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland president Beverley Mirolo said the foundation offered support to patients within days of their diagnosis including accommodation, financial assistance, transport, support groups, and information on the different types of information of lymphoma and the treatment that awaits them. Ms Bligh praised that support, describing it as "like gold" to her and her family. "I really say to anybody who's ever supported shave for a cure or any of the great work that the Leukaemia Foundation and the Cancer Council do when something like this happens, the support and the information they provide is like a saving lifeline in an otherwise sea of confusion," she said.