I have had a single, painless swollen lymph node in the left side of my neck for about 3 months now. I went to the doctor about 2 months ago because my left tonsil was swollen as well. It had a big white spot on it, so I assumed it was tonsillitis or strep. However, I had no pain at all. A strep test and mono test were done, and both came back negative. The doctor gave me antibiotics, which I had no response to. My tonsil did shrink back down a little, but not completely. The white spot is still there. The lymph node has increased in size slightly since my doctor's visit. It's not very hard, but it feels kind of oddly shaped. I have also lost a bit of weight - about 10 pounds over the last 2 months. I haven't changed my eating or exercise habits. Another thing is that I have been having persistent infections for the past year or so. I've been on antibiotics at least 4 times this year. I've had a few throat infections, bronchitis, and a kidney infection. I haven't had any routine blood work done in a while. The last time I had blood tests was when I was diagnosed with the kidney infection (about 4 months ago), and I had a high WBC (because of the infection, I guess). My RBC and platelets were in the normal range, but on the very low end.

I have another appointment with my doctor in a few weeks, for a full physical. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? Or, has anyone experienced similar symptoms? What did it turn out to be?

Thanks for your help.

Shayelyn

it is a good idea defiantly to go back to the doctors, i have exactly the same thing. A small lump im my neck on my right side. Not painful. My GP said it was just a cyst, and to come back in a month. I think its funny how you put this in the 'cancer' topic. Remember the famous saying. 'Although any new or unusual lmps should be checked out most lumps are not canerous but they always involve the C word - caution'

hope this helps

Thanks for your reply. Actually, when I wrote this I didn't even realize I was writing in the cancer forum. I just found this site by searching google for information on my symptoms, and I didn't really pay attention to the topic. Guess I should have... :)

Anyway, I do have one other thing I didn't mention in my first post, and that is I found another swollen lymph node. This one is on the other side of my body, right above my collar bone. It's about the size of a dime, and very hard.

I moved my doctor's appointment and am now going tomorrow, so hopefully I'll find out what this is.

shayelyn it is a very good idea to have it ck out as soon as u can it could very well be nothing and i dont want to scare u but my mother had a painless lump in neck she was diagnoised with lymphoma and luekemia she was in stage 4 she has been in remission for over a year now my grandson has one but his is from a ear infection

Just an update, I went to the doctor on Tuesday, and she did strep and mono tests, which were both negative. She also did a CBC, but I don't know the results yet. So I didn't get a diagnosis, but the doctor seemed really concerned. She told me I needed to see a specialist, and sent me over to one the same day. The specialist was kind of a jerk; he poked at my neck and said he thought nothing was wrong, even though my GP obviously did, or she wouldn't have sent me to him. Then he ordered a CT scan - my question is, why would he order one if he thought it was nothing?

u come across some doctors who are like that i would think that because your gp sent u there that he better do something if u dont think he is doing right ask to see anothr specalist for a second opinon

In my experience this past year, they request ultrasounds to verify things they might see in the scan. For instance in one case for me they thought a shadow they were seeing was a just fold but to be certain they wanted to do an ultrasound.

some do yes with my moms lump they did a biopsy right away no ultra sound

Thanks, but I didn't really say anything about an ultrasound. My doctor suggested a CT scan, which I know is different than an ultrasound. I appreciate your help, but I am still so darn confused here... I am especially concerned about this lymph node above my collar bone, because I've heard that enlarged nodes in that area are generally suspicious.

Thanks, but I didn't really say anything about an ultrasound. My doctor suggested a CT scan, which I know is different than an ultrasound. I appreciate your help, but I am still so darn confused here... I am especially concerned about this lymph node above my collar bone, because I've heard that enlarged nodes in that area are generally suspicious.

i also have a small node on my collar bone. They did CT scan and told me that i didn't have anything significant. i hope it goes well for you. Good luck.

I too have an issue with swollen lymph nodes. Originally, I developed a swollen node on the left side of my neck with no pain whatsoever. It showed up after my wisdom teeth were extracted. Over the year, two more nodes in the chain have swolen up. There is now mild pain coming from them. My doctor doesn't seem worried at all.

You're definitely doing the best thing going to a specialist. Hope all goes well.