Lump on neck for more than a year: what can it be? Posted: 10-25-06 11:57am
My question is this: I have had this lump
on the right side of my neck for some time
now (over a year) and I have had feelings
of fullness in my head (pressure) Two cat
scans and an MRI of neck and head and an
MRA of head showed normal. I have been to
the er room for this on one occasion
because the pressure was very bad and I
felt I needed medical attention right
away. After I was seen and blood work
done it showed that my Neutropphils count
was high(79.2) range= 43.0 - 72.0% /
Lymphcytes Low (14.2) range = 18.0 -
43.0%. My segs for the Differential
Manual were high 78 range = 25 - 62% and
lymphs low 15 range= 20 - 52%. I was also
told the lumpo in my neck was a
swollen/infected lymph node (2 doctors
confirmed this) The ER doctor suggested I
bring this to my doctors attention, which
I did the next day, and she told me there
was nothing wrong with me except stress
due to the death of my mother (died of
lung cancer in March 2006 - I was at the
doctors for this in June 2006). So
nothing was done except that she kept me
on Ativan for stress, which did nothing
for the feelings I get on the same side of
my head that the lump is on. Over the
past several months I have been getting
night sweats, feelings of just not feeling
good (always asking "do I have a fever?"
and feeling hot and cold- wake up with
night sweats which are not constant but
enough to make me aware there is something
going on) - I am just getting over a sinus
infection that took two weeks to clear the
infection but I still have a cough and
achey feelings (like the flu) I had a
chest x-ray which was normal. I did some
research on the low and high counts of the
blood and the swollen lymph node in my
neck and it all led me to Hodgkins/Non
Hodgkins disease. I am in need of some
advice - Should I seek a second opinion
from another doctor or wait until my
symptoms get worse? HELP!
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Cancers Answer A1731 Posted: 11-02-06 07:09am
If you have had a lump on your neck for
more than a year, it is possible that it
is a swollen lymph node or might be
identified as a tumor. You'll have to
have it examined closely. Swollen lymph
nodes can be caused by inflammation or a
lymph tumor.
Inflammation can be acute or chronic. In
your case, an acute inflammation seems out
of question because you have experienced
the lump for more than a year. Chronic
inflammation (specific or non-specific)
has to be investigated. Tuberculosis might
also be another possible explanation.
Tuberculosis is a specific, chronic
inflammation.
Lymph tumors can be secondary (metastasis)
or primary. Primary lymph tumors are
classified as Hodgkin or Non-Hodgkin
lymphomas.
The lump requires a needle punition for
cytological examination. Surgical removal
and a pathological examination can be
performed afterward, if necessary.
You provided a small part of your blood
laboratory analyses. A differential blood
picture analysis is of little conclusive
value without knowing the absolute amounts
for neutrophils, lymphocytes and
monocytes. Blood sedimentation and body
temperature are also very important for
making conclusions about your “fever”.
HIV-testing might be also considered in
your case.
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