CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Hi - I'm a 34-year old mother of 2. I went to the doctor because of fatigue and swollen glands in my groin and she did a round of blood tests which all came back normal and sent me for a CT scan which also came back normal. She then said she would refer me to an oncologist if I still had concerns, but I didn't think I needed to go since the CT was fine. So my question is, with a normal CT scan is it still possible to have lymphoma? I am concerned because the fatigue is really hindering my daily activities and if I overdo it one day I pay for it for a week. I have had night sweats and a few months ago I went to the doctor with chest pain and what I thought was a fever for me (99.5 off & on). I'm getting tired of feeling bad, but I don't want to waste my time worrying for nothing. I just really want to get on with life but it's hard because I don't know what's wrong with me. I also have had a little rash in the middle of my chest (just little red spots) and I get some pretty bad lower back pain if I stand up in one place for too long. I don't know if that is related or not. The lumps in my groin aren't very big but they're hard and I've lost 10 pounds since last summer without doing anything (I'm 5'8" and now weigh 123). Any advice would be welcome.
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandpuff
Hi - I'm a 34-year old mother of 2. I went to the doctor because of fatigue and swollen glands in my groin and she did a round of blood tests which all came back normal and sent me for a CT scan which also came back normal. She then said she would refer me to an oncologist if I still had concerns, but I didn't think I needed to go since the CT was fine. So my question is, with a normal CT scan is it still possible to have lymphoma? I am concerned because the fatigue is really hindering my daily activities and if I overdo it one day I pay for it for a week. I have had night sweats and a few months ago I went to the doctor with chest pain and what I thought was a fever for me (99.5 off & on). I'm getting tired of feeling bad, but I don't want to waste my time worrying for nothing. I just really want to get on with life but it's hard because I don't know what's wrong with me. I also have had a little rash in the middle of my chest (just little red spots) and I get some pretty bad lower back pain if I stand up in one place for too long. I don't know if that is related or not. The lumps in my groin aren't very big but they're hard and I've lost 10 pounds since last summer without doing anything (I'm 5'8" and now weigh 123). Any advice would be welcome.
Your symptoms are consistent with Tuberculosis, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and if you have not gotten tested for these three issues, you might want to be tested. They all produce the symptoms you are describing. The ENT told me that the only way to diagnose lymphoma is through biopsy where they take the piece of tissue and put it under a microscope. The CAT scans MRI's just define where the area of interest is and whether it looks similar to the surrounding area or different. They used an MRI to outline how deep the swollen tissue went into my face. I still may have the biopsy because the lump is still there measuing 8 mm at the surface, but under a large surface blood vessel. Just use your best judgement on how or whether you would want to deal with the side effects of testing.
The Following User Says Thank You to Merimac For This Useful Post: ChickenNugget (09-28-2012)
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Hey how are you doing? I had a CT scan in August of last year and was told it was 'normal' however i was told in January when i was diagnosed with hodgkins that the doctors 'overlooked' the areas that showed the lumps in my scan. Maybe go for a second opinion/scan if you are really worried.
take care.
x
The Following User Says Thank You to pinkmada For This Useful Post: ChickenNugget (09-28-2012)
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Thanks for the advice. I will probably go ahead and see the oncologist. What were your lumps like? Mine aren't very big, one group isn't very wide but it's probably a couple centimeters long right in my groin. The others are really hard and feel like pebbles, also in my groin. I have a couple in my neck and a couple in my armpits but they're more movable. I think I've had some of them for several years and others I think just in the last year or so, although I'm not sure because I never paid much attention to them. I had mono twice, once when I was 11 and once when I was 20 and so some of the glands have been there since then.
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandpuff
Thanks for the advice. I will probably go ahead and see the oncologist. What were your lumps like? Mine aren't very big, one group isn't very wide but it's probably a couple centimeters long right in my groin. The others are really hard and feel like pebbles, also in my groin. I have a couple in my neck and a couple in my armpits but they're more movable. I think I've had some of them for several years and others I think just in the last year or so, although I'm not sure because I never paid much attention to them. I had mono twice, once when I was 11 and once when I was 20 and so some of the glands have been there since then.
The original lumps are around my spleen and you can't/couldn't actually feel them but from the looks of the ultrasound my spleen seemed to be covered in them. A couple of days before my CT scan a lump slightly bigger than a golf ball appeared under my right arm but i couldn't move it. I'd definatly get a second opinion, I had to, the doctor i was seeing before i was diagnosed told me that the night sweats and fevers i was having was the antibiotics working!
Take care, I hope it's nothing serious.
xx
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Thanks again for your input. I'm going to the oncologist today. I'm so ready to get this over with so I can hopefully stop thinking about it so much. Not knowing is the worst. I guess they did see some shotty nodes on my CT scan which apparently aren't much to be concerned with but they still want to check it out. They hadn't even seen the scan of my pelvis which is where all of the bigger ones are so I don't know if they got that area scanned or not. take care
Re: CT Scan came back normal - definitely not lymphoma?
Hey - well I'm back from the Doctor with good news and bad. He said the lumps in my groin were normal but the ones in my neck would not be that swollen on a healthy person, but he is fairly certain it's not lymphoma (yeah!) but there could be a chance of low-grade lymphoma. He is thinking my problems are more of an immune system problem (which doesn't surprise me because I was diagnosed with spinal myoclonus 9 years ago.) He is doing some blood tests for lupus and some other stuff. He was a wonderful doctor to go see. He even asked what I thought it might be! (A doctor that respects his patient's opinion is a wonderful thing.) Anyhow, I wish you all the best and thank you so much for your thoughts and taking the time to read my posts. I'm off to the neurology forums now and we'll see where that leads me!
The Following User Says Thank You to Sandpuff For This Useful Post: ChickenNugget (09-28-2012)
