Large Node on rt. side of neck.... - Lymphomas Message Board

tinyblessings · 04-30-2004, 08:17 AM

Hi all....I just found this wonderful site...and I read a lot of your post....unfort most of what I have been reading has lead me to become very concern'd about my husband....

Over a month ago now....my husband discover'd a LARGE lump on his rt side of his neck....it goes from under his rt ear to his jaw, and down...it's approx. 2 1/2 inches wide...seems to be going into his neck muscle...and down to about an few inches from his collar bone....there is NO pain...unless he mashes it(out of frustration---wanting it to go away)

We did go to the GP(which is saying alot for my husband...retired Special Forces---they are taught that with there mind they can beat anything) And the GP was extreamly concern'd...if my husband wasn't so muscluar and thickly corded in his neck...the lump would stand out like a sore thumb...it's about the size of a turkey egg(which is larger than a jumbo chicken egg)...and it dosen't move.....The GP put my husband on 2,000. mg of penicellin...and since my husband wasn't showing signs of an obvious illness...he said basically what he was doing, was a shot in the dark, while we were waiting for an appointment to see a specilest(sp--sorry)--we will be seeing one next week. My husband had a cbc done...along with liver, kidney panels drawn also...everything was in the range of normal....My husband has completed the round of antibotic...and no----the node(s) are still hard, swollen, not getting bigger...but not going away either...

Back in 95, my son developed cat-scratch fever...and had an enlarged node(s) on his neck....BUT he had a raging fever...sick as a dog....and the nodes were hot and painful to the touch....the Doc has ruled out Cat scratch with my husband---because he has had no obivious illnesses....with the exception of a on and off fever with no other symptoms-----and not soaking night sweats...but he does sweat terribly, and his appitite is off also(my hubby normally loves his food...and his stomach has been off for a while now...

Has anyone also suffer'd the same sypmtoms? If you have Lymphoma, do the nodes hurt? He works 12hrs a day----so he's tired normally anyways...so that is one symptom that is hard to use...except he has slow'd down a lot---he's only 51---we have had our go rounds with gallows humor----afraid to face what maybe down the road....We try to laugh(I really think they are backwards tears)...Looking for your reply...thanks,

ysco · 04-30-2004, 09:14 AM

This does not sound good. I honestly don't mean to scare you but these are typical symptoms of lymphoma (sweats, low grade fever) and exceptionally large node(s). The node being painless and hard are also typical characteristics of nodes harboring cancer.

I don't understand why did the doctor give him penicellin just like that??! Was he diagnosed with any illness before? doesn't make any sense...

I suggest you see a doc as soon as possible and perform a biopsy. The fact that your husband "was showing no other signs of obvious illness" as you said is a good sign but further testing are required since whether it is a serious infection or cancer it will not improve on its own.

Even if it comes out as the worse, lymphoma, more than 50% of the cases can be cured.

Good luck, I hope he will get better.

haylee31 · 04-30-2004, 10:43 AM

My husband had very similar to what your husband is

going through. My husband had a lymph node reach the

size of a baseball if not even alittle bigger. He also had on

and off fevers. The one difference is my hubbys was tender

but felt very hard and fixed. The doctors also tried first to

treat this with antibiotics. The cancer word was mentioned

a few times by the doctors. They even stuck a 19 gage

needle in his neck and both doctors said it was a solid

mass. He had a cat scan which found a nodule on his

upper lung. We were both afraid and knew his symptoms

were not looking so great. We went to meet with the

surgeon { my

} and he knew right away this was

not a solid mass at all. It was a cyst and he had a major

infection. The surgeon drained 3 containers of gunk. Very

gross but was good news. The surgeon said he was almost

certain the nodule was infection as well. He went back

yesterday and the surgeon said this was not cancer. It

had refilled again with puss he drained another 2 container

Also the nodule went down in size.

I hope all

turns out well for your hubby. Please keep us updated.

Haylee

gregv · 04-30-2004, 01:26 PM

Hey there,

Well I hope your husband is getting better. Well first of all i think the doctor just prescribed some penicillin to see if he maybe had an infection in which case the penicillin would have killed the bacteria and caused the node to go down. Sometime doctors do this first to rule out infection before further tests are performed.

It is a good sign that you said the lump does not appear to be getting any bigger. I am not sure how sweating really fits in with lymphoma. I know that drenching night sweats are a worrying symptom but i dont know about just generalized sweating during the day.

Some symptoms like tiredness and fever could be indicative of lymphoma or a million other things!! Chances are if you have some sort of problem lymphoma or otherwise that is causing your lymph nodes to swell then your body will most likely produce a fever and some tiredness. It is just a matter of finding out why these nodes are swelling.

When you see a specialist i would highly recommend getting a biopsy done NOW. I think unless the doctor really doesnt think you need one i would get one anyway. Not to scare you or anything, but a biopsy is a good idea. This will allow you to get peace of mind if it comes back negative and even if it does come back positive for lymphoma it has only been a month, so you could catch this very early.

I thought of one thing when i was reading your description as well. I am pretty sure that a salivary gland called the parotid gland is situated under your ear and along your jaw. This is kind of a stab in the dark, but check on the internet for a diagram of where it is located and see if it is close to where your husband is swollen. I imagine your doctor would have noticed this, but you can check anyway.

Hope everything turns out for the best, and let us know how your husband is doing.

Greg

Marimac · 04-30-2004, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyblessings

Hi all....I just found this wonderful site...and I read a lot of your post....unfort most of what I have been reading has lead me to become very concern'd about my husband....

Over a month ago now....my husband discover'd a LARGE lump on his rt side of his neck....it goes from under his rt ear to his jaw, and down...it's approx. 2 1/2 inches wide...seems to be going into his neck muscle...and down to about an few inches from his collar bone....there is NO pain...unless he mashes it(out of frustration---wanting it to go away)

We did go to the GP(which is saying alot for my husband...retired Special Forces---they are taught that with there mind they can beat anything) And the GP was extreamly concern'd...if my husband wasn't so muscluar and thickly corded in his neck...the lump would stand out like a sore thumb...it's about the size of a turkey egg(which is larger than a jumbo chicken egg)...and it dosen't move.....The GP put my husband on 2,000. mg of penicellin...and since my husband wasn't showing signs of an obvious illness...he said basically what he was doing, was a shot in the dark, while we were waiting for an appointment to see a specilest(sp--sorry)--we will be seeing one next week. My husband had a cbc done...along with liver, kidney panels drawn also...everything was in the range of normal....My husband has completed the round of antibotic...and no----the node(s) are still hard, swollen, not getting bigger...but not going away either...

Back in 95, my son developed cat-scratch fever...and had an enlarged node(s) on his neck....BUT he had a raging fever...sick as a dog....and the nodes were hot and painful to the touch....the Doc has ruled out Cat scratch with my husband---because he has had no obivious illnesses....with the exception of a on and off fever with no other symptoms-----and not soaking night sweats...but he does sweat terribly, and his appitite is off also(my hubby normally loves his food...and his stomach has been off for a while now...

Has anyone also suffer'd the same sypmtoms? If you have Lymphoma, do the nodes hurt? He works 12hrs a day----so he's tired normally anyways...so that is one symptom that is hard to use...except he has slow'd down a lot---he's only 51---we have had our go rounds with gallows humor----afraid to face what maybe down the road....We try to laugh(I really think they are backwards tears)...Looking for your reply...thanks,

Lymphoma is characterized by painless lymph nodes unless they are pressing on an adjacent nerve. The nodes themselves do not produce pain. Lymphomas cause night sweats, that come and go. Indolent lymphoma can cause symptoms for a while(fevers, sweats, flu-like symptoms and swellings in the lymph nodes) and then stop and not have symptoms for up to six months, then the symptoms come back. Over time, without treatment the lymphoma can become aggressive, but the curious thing is that the aggressive lymphoma has a high cure rate, whereas the indolent lymphoma at this time appears to be incurable, but people have been known to live a normal life span with it as long as complications did not set in from other cancers or organ system failures. The doctor who specializes in treating lymphoma is the best person to connect with. They can not only tell you for sure if it is lymphoma, they can also provide the best treatment options. Everything here is speculation. A biopsy is important but, there is no danger in delaying for a while to get the best diagnosis. Please write back and let us know how things are going for you.