NY 1009

Wow, I'd say they're moving quick too.
usually they give the patient a round of antibiotics first before they do a biopsy to see if it's an infection or bacterial problem.
THEN if it doesn't go down, they do a biopsy.
scans of any type can NOT detect if a mass is a malignancy. ONLY a biopsy can detect a malignancy for sure, and sometimes they are misdiagnosed.
so it's always good to always get a 2nd opinon and even a 3rd opinion if the patient wants it.
the first pathologist who will be reading the biopsy may not detect a malignancy because there's over 30 different subtypes of lymphomas. whereas there's only one hodgkins lymphoma.
so a 2nd person to read it from a seperate lab can make SURE nothing was missed. there's a better chance of a non misdiagnosis by having it read a 2nd time.
there's 3 ways they can biopsy it:
there's excisional which they do by removing the entire mass, or they can take a piece of the tissue and view it or they can do a needle biopsy which is called a fine needle aspiration.
they don't recommend a needle biopsy because they're not 100% accurate, one because enough tissue might not have been taken, 2nd, the cores they took out may not have retrieved any of the bad cells.
I"d opt for the excisional.
some masses can not be reached and are hard to get at, so they have no choice other than to use a needle biopsy vs an excisional.

my spouse is worrying too that the idea of having to remove the entire lymph node on my neck may be more harmful than good because he says I need my lymph nodes. I dont' agree with that statement because we have many other lymph nodes to do the job. our body won't miss one of them.
it's far better to know you have one less lymph node and know if you have a malignancy or not so they can treat it.

I don't see the harm of having the biopsy.
if you feel you need more time for yourself to accept the possiblity you may have a malignancy, then you can wait a week.
waiting a week or two longer shouldn't make a difference at this point.
because the stages they have to take, if it's a malignancy is long.

most dr's say the percentage of it being a malignancy is small because there's so many diseases that can cause a lymph node to swell.
cat scratch disease, infections, bacteria, etc.

the radiologist who read my first cat scan and first mri report back in 1997, thought my node looked highly suspicious for a form of lymphoma and they suggested biopsy immediately.
just to read that paragraph on the report freaked me out!
but when they did the biopsy, it wound up it was NOT a lymphoma after all.
I even got a 2nd opinion by the dr's choice. He sent it away to another lab without even asking me if I wanted it or not. so you see? it's good to get a 2nd opinion. they expect you to.
plus you see, the radiologist that reads the scans aren't always right either.
the only way to know is thru a biopsy.
I really hope it's not a lymphoma.
take your time if you need it.
good luck

sincerely,
Linda