Swollen lymph node

DanielleIW · Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2005 4:59 pm Post subject: Swollen lymph node

Hello all and thanks for taking the time to read! For the last couple months I have had a swollen lymph node on my neck. It is staying consistent in size with minimal growth. It is completely painless. I actually noticed it by accident and went to the dr. I was going anyway to ask about my extreme fatigue. Other symptoms are chest pain on deep breths, hair loss, sweats during day, but more heavy during resting periods, diahrea, blood when whiping after bm and itching only on my neck, but not severe. They tested me for mono and thyroid, but both came back fine. I have an apptmt with an internist who may then refer me to surgeon for biopsy. Is there anything I can do or say to my internist to make him get me a biopsy or other tests to be sure it's not lymphoma? Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I am just trying not to freak myself out.
God Bless-
Danielle
_________________
Danielle I-W

DanielleIW · Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject: Re: Swollen lymph node

I am really disappointed in this site. I wrote this post almost a year and a half ago- all with not a single reponse. To anyone who actually does want to listen and perhaps give me some advice, that would be great.

I am having all the same symptoms as my last post. Still night sweats, weight gain/loss, chest pains on occasion, original node/lump is closer to marble size (started out as a pea size), one more node on same side of my neck, and some blood on TP after BMs. This new one (be be size) is actually on the side of my neck- the old above my collar bone. I did get to a GP who ran a full panel of all sorts of tests. My liver panel came back astronomically high- so we ran the test until they came down to normal, which was about 1.5 months. He decided that once the #'s went to normal range that it was a fluke in the lab- human error. He blew off the lump, and we let it go. So, I ignored it from July 05 until now- bc it has gotten larger, feels the same still painless smooth and roundish. I am opting for a biopsy bc the fatigue is just too much to handle. I barely make it through a day where all I do is sit in my cubicle. I miss the things in life that require energy, but by the time I get home I just want to go to bed. Overall I "feel" ok, just exhausted and I'm barely 24 and used to have energy to spare. So, when seeing the surgeon can I request the type of biopsy I'd like? I hear that the FNA sucks and doesn't always show anything. Please someone help me here, I'm worried and don't want to vent on my newlywed husband. It has been a rough last year. Still trying not to freak out after having these lumps for almost 2 years and odd symptoms, not to mention my family history of cancer deaths.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully someone will reply this time.

God Bless-
Danielle

[quote="DanielleIW"]Hello all and thanks for taking the time to read! For the last couple months I have had a swollen lymph node on my neck. It is staying consistent in size with minimal growth. It is completely painless. I actually noticed it by accident and went to the dr. I was going anyway to ask about my extreme fatigue. Other symptoms are chest pain on deep breths, hair loss, sweats during day, but more heavy during resting periods, diahrea, blood when whiping after bm and itching only on my neck, but not severe. They tested me for mono and thyroid, but both came back fine. I have an apptmt with an internist who may then refer me to surgeon for biopsy. Is there anything I can do or say to my internist to make him get me a biopsy or other tests to be sure it's not lymphoma? Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I am just trying not to freak myself out.
God Bless-
Danielle[/quote]

brainman · Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:52 pm Post subject: Re: Swollen lymph node

Dear Danielle, I am surprised that not one of the people who have viewed your message have responded. I know very little of your condition. I am sure you are feeling great disappointment and probably very much alone thinking that no one on this forum cares about you and is concerned about what you are facing… not even enough to reply to you in over one year. I will not offer any excuse only ask for you to forgive this laps.

More directly to your case… Until you have the biopsy, you really will not know what is causing the growth. Lymph nodes can grow for any number of reasons. Cancer is only one of them, albeit the most frightening cause. I do encourage you to continue to press your doctors for answers. You may need to seek a specialist outside of your community.

I will be praying and thinking about you.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

Life_101 · Regular Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 20 Location: N.E. Ohio

Danille,
Sorry to hear of your problems but there can be a hundred different reasons for your fatigue and other problems but your primary care doctor is your first line of defense. You have all the symptoms of lymphoma but the only sure way of diagnosis is to biopsy the node. The fine needle biopsy sometimes comes back negative is because the cancer cells are too large to be drawn thru the needle. A core needle biopsy will take a larger sample and be more accurate. A more drastic approach is a surgical procedure to remove the node for biopsy. A node can be enlarged for any number of reasons so it may be difficult to convince your MD you want a biopsy.

DanielleIW · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: Swollen lymph node

Thank you both for responding. It is nice to know someone is listening. Can you give me some examples as to what would cause swelling of the nodes? I have not had any infections for a long time, so it is not that. Also, is it possible for (if it is a lymphnode) it to change in size in both directions- both to swell and shrink? Maybe it is in my head, but it seems bigger some days than others. I think the hardest part of this all is how tired I am, it is really frustrating to be as young as I am yet feel three times it. The sweating at night is pretty consistent and bad, but fluctuates. Some nights are worse than others. but mostly my husband doesn't want to cuddle me anymore becuase I am so hot and sweaty. Fun times, starting feel nuts Smile

Anyhow- thanks again for expressing some compassion.
God Bless,
Danielle
_________________
Danielle I-W

brainman · Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:49 pm Post subject: Re: Swollen lymph node

Hi Danielle. I am no expert in lymphnodes. What I know is that they are like little filters in the immune system. I do not know all the reasons a lymph node might swell. Infection might cause them to become enlarged. In fact, you might not even know you have an infection. Continue to search for answers with your doctors. I will add one more thing: If you begin to have significant pain or to have a fever, go to the ER. They will respond faster than a doctor’s office.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

liwe · New User Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 4

Danielle, I'm sorry to hear that you are not doing well and have still not had an answer to your troubles. I had all of the symptoms that you had except for the diarhea and bleeding and after an inconclusive fine needle biopsy I had to have a surgical biopsy to determine that I had hodgkins lymphoma. However, before I was diagnosed, even with all of those symptoms, the Drs. had 3-4 other things they thought it might be. Unfortunatly, once I found out it was cancer I forgot what the other ones were except for tuberculosis. My surgery was done by an ear, nose , and throat Dr. Try not to fear the worst, but keep at your Drs. to find out what is wrong with you. It took me a long time to get a diagnosis too and I remember how hard it was not to know. Don't be afraid to lean on your husband a bit, I found out how strong my friends and family were when I was sick. Even if you do get diagnosed with lymphoma it is a highly curable cancer and after a year and half in remission I have a lot of energy and am doing all of the fun things I used to do. Good luck.

DanielleIW · Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject: Re: Swollen lymph node

Thank you again to all who are responding. As far as pain, I am not in any really. I get these chest pains, but I have had them since childhood. No one has ever had an explanation for them, so a while back I got an EKG and it came back normal. So, who knows what those are. I was just TB tested for a class I wanted to take- came back fine. I called my GP last week and got an appt to send me to the surgeon. First he wants to do a CT scan, then send me to the surgeon. When I last saw him, he was going to send me directly to the surgeon- why now would I need this extra test? Anyhow, at least we are moving forward with it so I can fianlly rest easy. I do talk to my husband about it all, but I feel bad doing so. I would love to share this with my best friend (my mom) but she has enough on her plate with taking care of my grandmother and dealing with the recent death of her brother (cancer just like her Dad and youngest brother). So, I'd hate to make her worry for nothing. I am glad that if, God forbid, this is the case that it has a very high mortality rate. Again just tired of being tired. So far this fall season I have not been catching ever illness like I did last winter, my immune sytem just really sucked last year for some reason.
To all who read- about what were the size of your lymphnodes and how fast did they grow?

Thank you all!!
God Bless-
Danielle
_________________
Danielle I-W

liwe · New User Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 4

Danielle, I'm glad to hear you are not in any pain and that you are going to see a surgeon. They sent me for CT scans before I saw my surgeon too (the surgeon was the ear, nose, and throat Dr. I went to) so I think that it's the usual step. One funny thing the ENT Dr. did when I went to see him was to stick a small camera down my nose to look at my throat to make sure there was no obstruction before they did the surgery. It was a little uncomfortable when he put it in my nose but it didn't hurt. They sat me in front of the tv so I could see the little roller coaster ride down my insides. I thought it was kinda cool, my husband thought it was gross and couldn't look. My lymph nodes on my neck were the size of marbles and golf balls. They grew from nothing one day to the size they stayed until I started chemo-they shrank to nothing after the first treatment! They surgery to take out my biggest lymph node on my neck so they could biopsy it was not a big deal. I was kinda scared while I was waiting alone to be wheeled into the room where they do the surgery but I took some big big breaths of whatever they give you and I was out until it was over. I was in pain that day and moderate pain for a week after-a good excuse to lay on the couch all week and watch tv. I don't remember the recovery being much worse then when I had my wisdom teeth out a few years ago. The surgeon made the incision along the natural lines of my neck so now two years later no one can find it unless I point it out. I hope you get some good answers from your Drs. appointment.

scared crazy · New User Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 4

I am sorry to hear of your troubles. My husbands lymphoma was also kinda hard to detect. He went through many tests and the final outcome was finally detected through a full removal of a lymphnode. It started out slow at first and then it went real fast as his is a rare lymphoma so they were not sure what was wrong. We were thankful for doctors that pushed the issue until they knew what they were dealing with. Just continue to voice your opinion someone will soon listen. Good luck and hope all works out well.

Trudi · New User Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4

Hi Danielle! I'm new to this forum, which is why I personally didn't respond to your question before now. Wink

As you know, enlarged lymph nodes can be caused by infections. They can also be caused by viruses, which the person may never even know they have/had. And, sometimes, it can take months to years for lymph nodes to go back to normal size, after someone has had an infection or virus.

Have you had chest x-rays done? Also, what do your blood counts show?
_________________
Trudi, wife of Bruce (dx 2/86, stage 4 follicular small-cleaved cell NHL)

sanrdj · New User Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 1

Hi Danielle,

I have had enlarged lymph nodes on the left side of my neck for over 2 years. They have gone "down" at times but never by much and just tonight I noticed that they are still large (actually noticable in the mirror). I would say I have one the size of a grape and others the size of peas. I have had ultrasounds and nothing has come back. They say that they are reative nodes. I've had antibiotics and that has not done anything. I have to say, I'm scared to death of going back to the doctor because of my fear of it being the big C. Mom died of cancer and dad is in remission for 4 years.

Just wanted to say that I know what you are going through and you should be proud of yourself for going to the doctor and posting here.

Andy

philt1861 · New User Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 5

Hi, very sorry to hear about your troubles, im kinda goin through the same thing. have the same symptoms for the most part, and have been pushing my doc. for a biopsy. He sent me to a specialist who recommended a PET scan (think thats what its called). its basically like a CAT scan, but they inject you with a dye that "lights up" when it comes in contact with any cancerous cells. I have done 2 CAT scans so far already, both of which told me i have swollen lymphnodes under might heart ( occational chest pain) and in my lower back (occational back pain) my lower abdomin, my neck, and my collar bone. Been tested for everything else (negative). not sure why this is taking so long either. Have to keep pressuring these doctors to get anything done. Hope everything works out for you.

la_cavaliere · New User Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1

I have had a swollen lymph node for two weeks. It was tender at first, but after taking antibiotics, the pain went away, but not the lump.

I have had a CAT scan, an ultrasound and a fine-needle aspirate biopsy, all of which were inconclusive. My doctor even ordered a PET scan, but it was refused by insurance because I don't yet have a diagnosis.

My ENT doctor is cutting the lymph node out tomorrow and doing a biopsy (his recommendation).

I guess I don't understand why others have to beg for a biopsy after months or years of having a swollen node as well as other symptoms, and my doctor is doing one after just two weeks....? I am a bit nervous about it, but I'm thankful for having such a proactive doctor.

If some of you aren't happy with your doctor, why don't you get a new one or at least a second opinion?

jamesatkins · Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:19 am Post subject: swollen lymph node

Hi , i have been reading your posts,sorry i havnt replied untill now, i was diognosed [eventually] after being treated from constipation and everything inbetween,i swore if anyone else tried to deposit anything else in my rear end they would see my bad side real quick,i was only 17 so you can understand my embarrasment.
Anyway they had to take a large node from my neck to get the final diognosis, i waited a terrifying 2 weeks in a small country hospital going through every test you could think of before they did the biopcy.
They might even try a fine needle biopci, which is vertually pain less.
I know what the waiting and wondering can be like, this desease has been my shadow now for 23yrs.
I pray all works out well for you,i really do.
All the best from Australia, Jim Atkins. Wink

_________________
JIMJIM

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