A Lump on Right Side of Neck. Panicking :(

[skyisblue]

Hi,

It's been almost 5 months since my last HA episode and I've been doing fine until 2 hours ago.

For some stupid reason, I was feeling my neck and I discovered this lump on the right/back part of my neck.

The lump feels semi-soft but firm. I do think it is movable. I had my father checked it out and he said that he thinks he can move it and it was a bit soft as well.

It is non-painful though. It is the size of a marble or a small almond. Definitely a bit larger than an average pea.

My rational side is saying that it could be just a lymph node, but my bad side is telling me it could be the big C.

I haven't had any recent infection that I know of, but I've been feeling really stressed out at work and in graduate school. I'm 22 y.o. by the way.

Also, I don't know if this is plausible, but I've been having bad acne breakouts on the face. And the pimples at my rear hairline and back neck have been irritating my skin and scalp.

I don't know what to think. I should be focusing on a major presentation of mine this Friday, but I feel that I am being overpowered by this worrying. :(

[lo89]

Hey,
I am also studying at the moment (final year of my degree) I have a huge assignment due in tomorrow which I haven't finished yet, so I am pretty stressed.
I have also got a lump on my neck and a breakout of my skin just now - I am thinking that the skin breakout is caused by stress and the lump is caused by the skin breakout.
It could also be a knotted muscle due to stress - mines is more like the size of a pea, hard, and immobile.
If I was you I would wait a week or so and see if it goes away, and if not I would get it checked out by a doctor.
Good luck!

[skyisblue]

Thank you, lo.

I am just hoping we are going through the same benign thing. I'm scared that this might go off. :(

[missybct]

Hi love.

It sounds as if it could be a sebaceous cyst. Before you worry, they are totally benign and just fluid filled sacs (they sometimes contain pus). I get them on my neck quite often and you said you had a breakout of acne, which could be linked. They are really easy to treat - most of them will just disappear on their own accord but if it persists, get a nurse or GP to look at it.

Please try not to worry. If it's still there in a week, make an appointment to see a nurse, but relax :)

[gwhite73]

These are really common and they are types of cysts, depending on where they are they can sometimes be called post-auricular cysts or nodes. They are definitely quite firm and feel slightly bigger than a pea.

They do tend to run in families - my brother has had quite a few of them over the years and I personally have had one in the same location as you.

They are harmless! Although in my experience they can take many months to finally disappear. Some doctors will try to disperse them back into the lymph by pressing them really hard (as they are non-painful), but in my experience this didn't do anything.

Eventually, I just naturally stopped thinking about it and a few months later, I felt around and it was gone. Like you, for the few initial few days I was worried though. I'm sure these are extremely common but most people just don't notice them.

A colleague of mine had the "big C" in the lymph nodes and it didn't carry any physical symptoms (no lumps) except for an extremely stiff and painful neck - so worry not :) At 22 you are way too young.