Hi,

I am a 22 year old female and I was just wondering how long it generally takes for lymphoma to progress before you find yourself extremely ill? I have had a small lump on the back of my neck for 4-5 years now that has always caused me discomfort and sharp pains(feels like there is a knife stuck in there or there are shards of glass moving around inside) This lump is on the back of my neck, up high, right around the hairline, almost in the middle of neck, but slightly more to the right UNDERNEATH the skin and can only be felt when tilting my neck certain ways usually. Lately it has been worse and I can always feel something not right in that spot and in the back and side of my head. Recently the left side has started the same thing, except now the left side feels raised(like a swollen node under the skin) and definitely bigger than the right side all along the hairline at the back and it is causing the same sensations of pain and discomfort as the right side has been doing for the past 4-5 years.

Lately, my nose has been very stuffy all the time and I have had a lot of fluid or flemm in my throat frequently that sometimes takes a while to clear out.(I do have really bad allergies, though so maybe that is what this part is, but it has been consistant for a few months now)

I have also been experiencing some sore pressure in my head at times, mostly when I am lying down at night trying to sleep..this usually happens on the left side at the top of my head, the right side at the back of my head and right above my temples, most often on the right side.

My ears(mostly my right ear) have been bothering me lately, like an ear infection, but it is not constant.

I have no fever, no vomiting, no night sweats(I do get a lot of bad hot flashes at night though), no excessive itchiness really, although on occasion my back will get extremely itchy and last for a minute or 2 then go away, but that doesn't happen THAT often.

I feel like the other Lymph nodes in my body cause me some discomfort now and then as well(around groin area, under armpit, under jawline), but they are not constantly enlarged like the back of my neck (if they even are lymph nodes back there)

I have been so scared lately that it is Lymphoma or some type of cancer or brain cancer (I used to always just wave it away as stress or a muscle knot at the back of my neck, as did everyone else I told, but now it seems to be worse and almost like it has spread to the other side. I am making an Dr.s app. for the end of this month.

Do you think this could be Lymphoma or some type of cancer, even though I have had the issues with the right side for at least 4-5 years, with no progression up until a couple of months ago?(The left side didn't even start bothering me till about 3 weeks ago, but the right side started bothering me more 2-3 months ago) Could it take this long for it to start progressing if it is cancer? If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE RESPOND. I am driving myself sick with worry.

Thanks you so much for taking the time to read this and hopefully giving me some info.