Neck Lymph Node

Belle2003

I have a similar problem. I have a swollen lymph node on my neck over my carotid artery. I had an ultra sound done and the lymph node looks normal, but the only way to be sure is a biopsy. A had 3 fine needle biopsies on it and none of them reached the node and only drew blood. I have to pay a huge co-pay for a failed procedure. Now my only alternative is an ultrasound guided biopsy. I have no symptoms of any kind other than the swollen lymph node. I have read that lymph nodes can become swollen due to a virus and never return to their normal size. So I don't really know if I should forget the ultrasound guided biopsy of what.

Your lymph node situation could be the same. I have even read where someone's lymph node has been swollen for years. It would be interesting to know if anyone with lymphoma had no symptoms other than one swollen lymph node.

IDontUnderstand

Yes I would love to know. Mine is the size of an eraser on a pencil and I can only feel it if I turn my head (my lump is on the left side of my neck and can onlyfeel it if I turn my neck to the right). Should I be worried? How large should it be before I get worried?

Belle2003

I don't know the answer to your question. I am waiting for the doctor to call with for my ultrasound guided biopsy appointment. Part of me says that it is nothing and I am just wasting their time and my money. Then the other part says, better to be safe than sorry. They say to catch things early. But I have no symptoms other than this painless, swollen lymph node.

I discovered the swollen lymph node by accident, so who knows how long it has been swollen.

IDontUnderstand

I found mine by accident as well. I was scratching my neck while putting up my Christmas Tree and there it was. I've showed my doctor and he said Hmmmmm felt it and said it was ok. Who knows. I cant have anything done about it yet because I am currently waiting on my results from an abnormal mammogram which showed a fibroadenoma and I dont have insurance. So.........If the fibroadenoma gets bigger I will have to have it removed in 6 months.

crosssecrg

I had lymphoma last year. I found a swollen lymph node under my arm. I did not think I had any other symptoms but in hind sight I was tired and fatigued, not really noticing it. It can be diagnosed and treated. I was told the majority of the time a swollen lymph node is not serious. It is very normal for lymph nodes to swell when their is a problem such as a cold. Go have a doctor take a look instead of getting mis information on here.

BchGrl

Did you ever find out what the lump was from? The reason I'm asking is because I'm in remission & really scared that it will come back & I won't know it. I ask my oncologist the signs to look for but they just skate around the question.
I NEVER had swollen lymph nodes that I nor anyone else could feel. They showed up on chest x-rays, abdominal CT & bone MRI. But if we can't feel a swollen lymph node, what do we look for? If we wait for night sweats like I did, it's back with avengance.

I'd like to feel a little control over this thing. Has anyone's oncologist told you what to pay attention to once you're in remission?

__________________
Follicular Non Hodgkins (fNHL)
Stage 4 (transformation occured)
Age 36

Belle2003

I went for the ultrasound needle guided biopsy. The ultrasound tech did her thing and then the Radiologist doctor who was going to do the needle biopsy came in. She asked me why I was there. I told her that my doctor was concerned about my enlarged lymph node that had not decreased in size since December. The Radiologist doctor told me that my lymph node is of normal size and that they never do a needle guided biopsy on lymph nodes of this size. That it is very difficult to do when lymph nodes are small and it is unnecessary. That the reason I can feel this lymph node so prominently is that it is lying on top of my carotid artery making it stand out. She said that the first ultrasound I had many months ago showed that the lymph node was of normal size. So I took her advice and did not have the needle guided biopsy. I was very ticked off at my doctor. She is the one telling me that the only way she could be sure that the enlarged lymph node was benign was by having a biopsy, when the first ultrasound showed that it was of normal size and why it felt so prominent. I felt that she was praying on my fears and trying to get more money for the clinic she works at by having me go for tests and procedures that she knew were unnecessary. (I had already had a failed needle biopsy in her office that ended up costing over $700 plus lab fees.) Because of her I changed clinics and now go to Kaiser. The moral of the story is to make sure you receive a copy of your procedure results and not rely on your doctor to tell you what they found.

I am sorry that this information is of no help to you. Perhaps you can find someone else here who can help.

heybb

Lately I've been feeling extremely tired, blood tests were fine apart from I found that I was anemic and I'm taking iron for that. But I'm concerned about feeling so tired and weak even though I get more than enough sleep at night (10-12hours). I'm not sure whether to just forget about it because knowing me it's just nothing.

Also I have had an enlarged lymph node for a few months. It's on the left side and doesn't move. It doesn't hurt unless you press down hard on it which I guess anything would if you pressed down hard on it.

I didn't say anything to the doctor about it because I didn't think anything of it, I went to see him about 2 months ago and I had only had the lump for about a month at the time. I thought it would go away but it won't go away or even shrink, I'd say it were a tiny bit bigger. But I don't want to seem like I'm worrying over nothing! I haven't even told my mom because I'm worried she'll think I'm making a fuss over nothing you know because she is a doctor.


I eat fine, but have lost my appetite quite a bit lately and have only lost a tiny amount of weight (5pounds). I have no other symptoms but I'm worrying.

I just think I'm overreacting but it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with school because I fall asleep in every class and every teacher is giving me a lot of stick for it. I don't know what to do!

Belle2003

It could be nothing, but I find that it is better to get peace of mind. So go to the doctor and tell him/her about being tired, losing weight and your questionable lymph node. It could be nothing, but you will sleep better knowing that everything checked out fine.