any one ever diagonsed have a PAINFUL gland?

daughters advocate · New User Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 5

I posted once before, so update for those who read...
My 14 year old daughter...so far, had CT scan, one radiologist says suspicous of lymphoma, another said, not at all.

One ENT says biopsy right away, the other says, not necessary. The Infectous disease Dr. says whatever. (literally!)

Labs so far - epstien barr, sed rate, immunoglobulin panel and CBC are all normal, except her MCH was a little low.

Symptoms - only her submandibular glands hurt. The right side for a few years, the left just over a year. They are enlarged, but Dr.s not too concerned because in 1999 they were 3.5 cm with a cold. They are now around 2 cm. The CT scan showed multiple enlarged nodes in her cervilcal posterior chain. (back of neck) up to 2 cm.
none of these can be felt, and don't hurt. No fever, minor fatigue, but I don't think its beyond normal for 14 year old. She is generally very healthy.

Main question - we are trying to decide on doing a biopsy, and we have such conflicting Dr. opinions. In all my research, I only read NON PAINFUL glands were biopsied. Has ANYONE had a painful gland and had positive biopsy? Could it be alergies? (thats our next appointment)
Thanks for your help...
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Daughters advocate

Orange Agent

Hi again daughters advocate,

It does get confusing doesn't it. I somethimes think it's much more of an art than a science.

I am going to offer a few possabilities but please recognize that I have no medical training whatsoever and only speak from experience as a patient. I also solicit opinions of others either approving or disapproving.

I'm not sure how accurate the CT-Scan is, even though it was one of the bases of my diagnosis. After 4-1/2 month of chemo and half a zillion CT-Scans my doctor was considering Ratiation treatment but needed to know the exact location of my cancerous cells. Therefore he sent me to the nearest city to get a PET Scan. This showed me to have cancer not only in my chest, but also in my groin. Evidently because the PET Scan is a passive device (as opposed to the CT-Scan) it reports more accurately. You might want to talk this over with your doctor.

Disagreement among Radiologists? Not real unusual. My Oncologist used to complain all the time about my radiologist. Seems like they're interested in different areas or slices of film. Have you talked to a real Oncologist?

Your daughter's present immediate condition doesn't sound too life threatening. The treatment prognosis that my Oncologist is currently using with my follicular small cell lymphoma is "Wait and See". When the symptoms get worse he starts contemplating treatment. Evidently some people can go long periods of time having lymphoma with few serious effects.

Biopsys of painful glands? I don't have a clue. With me the left side of my neck and my left testicle was swollen. Maybe the fact that they took the boopsy from my neck proves your point. Anyway, I was taken to day surgery and I don't remember any pain (just discomfort).

If it were my daughter I think I'd exlore the PET Scan, assuming your Oncologist agrees with this non-invasive type testing. It's similar to a CT-Scan, but requires the patient to lie still for nearly an hour. A double helping of anti-anxiety pills worked for me.

That's about all I can offer but wish you the best of luck. I once had a doctor friend who said the parent always knew better than the doctor, what was best for the child.

Burt
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Burt

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