Hi, i have had swollen nodes for nearly 5 months around my neck. A while ago i noticed something small which i couldn't be sure if it is a lymph node on my collar bone and this had frightened me very very much. Up to now, i have been to several doctors which all were satisfied with the blood tests and told me that i didn't have anything serious. But that thing on my collar bone is something that makes me have nightmares. i am really very very afraid. :( i'll ask my family to see another doctor but this time no one can calm me just with blood tests. What should i ask for? The doctor i have seen before had insisted not to do a biopsy since the nodes were small. So what other test should i have? What are easy and not risky scanning methods?

i'm lookig forward to hearing from ou

Hi i am having the same problem, i found this info online about a cancer blood test hope this helps, I am goin to ask for it

A blood test that measures the level of CA-125, a substance found in blood, other body fluids and some tissues. Increased levels of CA-125 may be a sign of cancer.

You can't trust blood tests alone for determing lymphoma's. only a biopsy can distinguish it.
there are so many people who I've read their testimonies and they all believed that that their blood work had to be effected in order to detect lymphoma.
all of them had normal blood work and they had lymphoma.
a ca-125 tests a protein in the blood and it's not 100% effective for deteming cancer.
there are alot false negative as well as false positive.
they use the ca-125 blood test usually for woman who've already been diagnosed with a gynocolgical cancer and they use it as a screening test only.
to use it to detect a cancer is not so good, but once a diagnosis has been determined then the test is considered my reliable because the protein level increases with certain subtypes of cancer.
that's my personal opinion and I wouldn't rely on the ca-125 for a lymphoma alone.
I am not a dr so please don't take me word for word. you need to speak with a dr to diagnose you.
sincerely,
Linda

You're absolutely right, at least in my case. I was told I have this low grade form of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma for at least 20 years. Prior to my biopsy, all of my blood work came back perfectly normal. Don't rely on the bloodwork. I was encouraged when I had 2 rounds of bloodwork done, the second one being more thorough and everything was in the normal range. I'd never rely on the blood test now.