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Q: Is This Lymphoma? Please Help!
asked by: msvitek on January 21st, 2006
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Hi all,

i am kind of new at this, but I have some serious concerns that maybe someone else is familiar with. It all started in february of 2005 when I noticed a swollen lymph node on the left side of my neck under my chin. It did not hurt and moved easily, but I went to the doc to get it checked out. He said it was allergies (i've never had allergies). I went back several times, but he kept saying allergies. This past november, I was having some mild pain under my armpit and into my breast on the left side. I had an appt with my obgyn, so she checked it out and found no lumps.

I noticed that the gland in my neck would swell and go down, but never to the same size as the other side. The chain of glands running down that side of my neck is also a bit more prominent now than they were before. I went to a new doc, and she could not feel swelling. I went back to the doc again, and she said she could feel that that side was a little fuller than the other. I am also having extreme ear stuffiness and jaw discomfort on that side. It almost feels like there is something in my throat and up into the back of my mouth on that side only. Now the back of my left knee is swollen as well. The doc sent me for bloodwork and an ultrasound, and I am freaking out as I wait for the results. I do not really have any other symptoms of lymphoma except that I have been running a lowgrade fever periodically throughout the day the last few weeks (99.3 or so) and then it goes back to normal.

Sorry this is so long...Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.
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HGentile replied on January 27th, 2006
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Try not to worry too much. Stress doesn't help.

I had something very similar last spring. My right side node under my chin swelled up. It swelled up to the size of a tennis ball! I couldn't move my head at all, I would have sharp pains in my neck. I was sent to a ear nose and throat Dr. Who did a needle aspiration (biopsy) and I had to wait for 6 days for the results! Thankfully it was negative for lymphoma.

I went into my regular Dr. Who ran every test under the sun on me. I finally asked her if I was ever tested for mono. She said no and ran a test. It turned up positive for mono.

Have you been tested for mono? Other possibilities are lupus, lymes, rhuematoid arthitis among many other things. The possibilities are endless but I realize it's hard to not focus on lymphoma. It can be very scary, but hang in there!

This also could be happening from teeth problems. So be sure to have those checked out.

Please keep me updated and best of luck!

Holly
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HGentile replied on January 27th, 2006
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Try not to worry too much. Stress doesn't help.

I had something very similar last spring. My right side node under my chin swelled up. It swelled up to the size of a tennis ball! I couldn't move my head at all, I would have sharp pains in my neck. I was sent to a ear nose and throat Dr. Who did a needle aspiration (biopsy) and I had to wait for 6 days for the results! Thankfully it was negative for lymphoma.

I went into my regular Dr. Who ran every test under the sun on me. I finally asked her if I was ever tested for mono. She said no and ran a test. It turned up positive for mono.

Have you been tested for mono? Other possibilities are lupus, lymes, rhuematoid arthitis among many other things. The possibilities are endless but I realize it's hard to not focus on lymphoma. It can be very scary, but hang in there!

This also could be happening from teeth problems. So be sure to have those checked out.

Please keep me updated and best of luck!

Holly
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msvitek replied on January 28th, 2006
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Thank you so much for the reply holly! It is nice that you took the time to write, and your response made me feel better. I finally got the results to my tests...The wait was agonizing. My bloodwork was normal, but the ultrasound showed that I have several enlarged lymph nodes in my neck, the largest of these is 2.1 cm. My thyroid is also slightly enlarged. The doctor said on a scale of one to ten with one being normal thyroid and ten being very worrisome, mine is about a two. She is sending me to an endocrinologist. I am a bit surprised that she is not sending me to an ent, but she said she does not think a biopsy is needed right now. I'm not really sure what to think. I would think if I had lymphoma, my white count would be high. I am still worried just because I can't think of what else would cause my glands to swell. I guess if it was mono that would show up in the bloodwork, right? It's kind of funny that I would actually be happy to have mono at this point! I am only 25 years old, but i've been told that certain types of lymphoma occur around my age.

Anyway, sorry for the long note. Thanks so much again for making me feel better. It's nice to know that you don't even know me and you cared enough to write. I appreciate it!
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HGentile replied on January 28th, 2006
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Glad to hear everything seems ok so far!

I know exactly what you mean when you talk about how agonizing the wait can be! Those were the 6 longest days of my life!

Actually you need to be tested seperately for mono among other things. I am 28 and it was right after my 28th birthday that I got mono, so you just never know, it can occur later in your life!

My problem is that I do have an elevated white count. Not alarmingly high though. Normal range goes up to 11 and mine fluctuates between 11 and 13. If my numbers were up in the 40's, then I would have really been worried! I did have to go to a blood specialist though and have many blood tests. That was also very scary. But he told me he has quite a few women that come in once a year with numbers in the upper teens and they are very healthy, some people just have a little higher count than others.

You could just have a thyroid problem that is causing all of this. Like I said, it's so easy to just focus on the major scary problems when there are hundreds of other possibilities.

Best of luck to you and please keep me posted! I have been keeping my fingers crossed for you. It's hard to see someone who was in the same position as I was a year ago, because I remember how scary it was for me.

Holly :wink:
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tofino replied on June 30th, 2006
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Similar Situation
Hi!
I am the same age and having a similar problem. I will copy and post my other post, because it is a long story too! Have you heard from your docter? I am going back on friday.

I have had some serious neck gland issues for a while now. On and off over my life I have had sore throats and swollen glands, usually once a year. However, they have gotten worse and more frequent over the past six months. I am a 2nd year teacher, and since january I have been almost constantly sick. It all started with a flu that I had for a couple of days in january. About a month later my gland started to swell during the night on one side. (i have always had swellings with this one gland on the right hand side of my neck). Overnight it got very big, it looked like the mumps, so I went to the er. They ran blood tests and everything was ok. So I went home with antibiotics. I then went to my regular dr who sent me for an ultrasound. The radiologist said that it looked as though there may have been a stone in my gland. Which could be true because I did swell up more when I ate any food. So my Dr. Told me to suck on sour candies. After about 7 days I was back to normal. I am not sure if it was the candies or the antibiotics! Anyways, after that I have had about 4 more gland swellings and sore throats and feverish one after the other. Always with my right neck gland becoming very large. I have become very anxious and stressed about always being sick. So a coworker suggested that I go to a nauturopath. She said that my gland was still swollen and gave me a variety of herbs and vitamins to take and reccommended I come back again. I do have an appt booked with my reg. Dr. But she is very hard to get in to see. So with all these swellings, I have just rested and not gone in. But now after my last sore throat, I feel much better but my gland in still swollen and my neck feels very tight and it is hard to swollow, like there is a lump in it and my voice is raspy. Please help me, I am stressed about this and the more stressed I get, the worse it is.
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LymphomaLady replied on December 30th, 2008
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in response to msvitek
I'm 19 and have Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It took quite a while before mine was diagnosed correctly. There isn't always an elevated white blood count however anemia is common among Lymphomas. You should demand an enhanced CT scan. That is the only way to tell for sure if your swelling is malignant. Trust me, better safe than sorry. Sometimes you have to take your healthcare into your own hands because the doctors assume that you're too young to have cancer. I experienced first hand, so get a scan done! A biopsy should have been the first step when there was noticably larger nodes on one side. 2.1 cms is large for a neck node.

Also, just because you don't have any night sweats or rash or anything that doesn't mean that Lymphoma is not a possibility. Actually, most people experience no symptoms. Symptoms only mean you are in a later stage known as a "B" stage. It just means the tumour is fighting harder to grow and your body is reacting with these symptoms.
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