Current medical status: I have Hashimoto's disease with a large goiter. No nodules present on last sonagram 8/1/07. For the last month or so...I have had supraclavicular swelling on each side of my neck. It has not gotten better or worse. My nurse practitioner did cbc and chest xrays both normal. From everything I have read, swelling of the supraclavicular fossa means cancer.....but that is usually only on one side of the neck. Mine is on both sides. The left may be a little bigger. What conditions could cause this? Please help! Melly40



According to the symptoms you reported (supraclavicular bilateral swelling), you might be experiencing enlarged lymph nodes in the supraclavicular fossa. Enlarged supraclavicular lymph nodes often appear due to metastasis from a near tumor. However, they can also appear due to inflammation that spreads from a close organ. This can be caused by Hashimoto disease, which includes inflammation of the thyroid gland itself (Hashimoto thyroiditis).


You might want to visit an endocrinologist to determine if the condition originates from the thyroid gland or somewhere else.