Swollen lymph nodes - could it be cancer

[Daisies123]

Hi, I'm a 19 year old female and am new to the site. I'm currently on 10mg of amitriptyline a night.

I have a small lump on the back of my neck, which I guess you could say moves when you put your finger on it. I went to the doctors about 4 years ago and they said it was probably just a cyst or something similar, but I was welcome to come back so about 2 months ago I went back as i thought it was causing a little bit of pain and discomfort. The doctor touched the area and said it's just a lump on your gland (I am assuming swollen lymph nodes?) and will be there for life. He said the pain surrounding it was probably caused by stress, as I get regular headaches so I was prescribed with amitriptyline.

A couple of weeks a go I found another lump, this time behind my ear on the boney part on the right side like the other lump. It's harder and doesn't seem to move so I've been worrying that it could be cancer, as it doesn't hurt at all. I think I've also found a swollen gland under my right armpit. I'm panicking lots and googling my symptoms is only making things worse. I have a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks, but have been phoning in the morning to try and get an on the day emergency appointment because I can't stop panicking. Does anyone have anything reassuring to say? Every ache and pain and dizziness that I am experiencing, I'm trying to link to the lumps, even though it is most likely caused from anxiety.

Today my auntie got diagnosed with terminal cancer and it has absolutely terrified me. She must be so frightened. It makes me feel terrible for worrying about myself, but my anxiety has just gotten the better of me. I feel awful.

If anyone could help then this would be great.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Daisies123 and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[Dazza123]

A few years ago I had a very swollen lymph node in the arm pit of my left arm. It was big, and extremely painful, more like a stinging pain than anything else.

I went straight to the doctor who firstly checked my arm to make sure there were no wounds that could have caused the node to swell, which there weren't. So from this I worried even more. I was told to go back a week later if it was still swollen.

I worried all week, and the day before my appointment, it had gone and all was well.

[Daisies123]

That must have been a relief for you.

I'm worried that the lump behind my ear is a tumour and that is the reason that my glands are swollen because I can't really think of any reason why they would be swollen.

Google just keeps coming up with cancer and HIV on it's search results, which isn't very reassuring at all.

[Dazza123]

I had some weird blood rash in my mouth a few years ago (I get odd things popping up now and again) I thought it was mouth cancer so referred to dental hospital for checks, it went after about 6 months, noone ever found out what it was, but when I googled that it kept coming up with HIV. Google is nasty isnt it!!

I wonder if its a type of cyst, and the glands are swelling because they are doing something to deal with it? With my lymph node, the doctor said, if I had a cut or wound on my arm, the node could swell as its taking care of the infection, so maybe that might be something thats happening with you?

The thing is, there is usually a very simple reason for many of our afflictions, its just sadly due to anxiety, we always believe its something worse through fear.

[Daisies123]

I know! You shouldn't ever google symptoms! I was only looking for some reassurance.

It's very possible, I have dermatitis on my hands so it could even be due to that (even though I've had that for years). I'm going to the doctors today so I'll keep you posted. Hopefully it is just something simple.

[Daisies123]

The lump is apparently a swollen gland caused by a throat injection. I'm on antibiotics for a week and if the lump hasn't gone down in a month then my doctor has said come back.

I can't shake this worried feeling. I've just been trying to distract myself. Is there anything you can suggest?

[Beckie4567]

I'm sure if uve had it for 4 years and it was something serious ud be very ill by now x

[Dazza123]

I have learned after many years to trust my doctor, when something occurs, which as we all know it generally does, I give it a week or 2, and if it hasn't stopped or gone, I see my doctor, she is very good and very understanding of my mental health so will always talk me through whatever it is I have, and if she is confident its nothing then she will tell me so. Then there is usually a blood test which is always clear.

I just try not to worry, unless there is something to worry about, but I know that isn't always possible.

I have gastro reflux diseased, which causes immense pain in my chest very often and has done so for many years. I lost my dad just over a year ago very suddenly, he had a massive heart attack and was gone in seconds, he was only young, so when I get this pain, which is really bad, heart attack is the first thing that goes through my mind, but what I do is go through the symptoms of a heart attack in my mind, and check with myself that I do not have these, so I sort of reason it out in my head. It doesnt stop me from worrying about it again next time, but you just have to try and reason with the anxiety feeling and hopefully common sense will prevail and prove to you that although there is something, its probably nothing serious. I think brain training like this eventually does help, but I appreciate it isnt always that easy.

[Davit]

I've had two cysts removed from my collar area on my neck because they were annoying. One was infected and that one hurt. They were sent in and neither was cancer. The one behind your ear, is it the side you sleep on. Cysts usually start as plugged oil glands.
My mother had terminal cancer, and my brother has had Cancer twice. I don't let it concern me.

[Daisies123]

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

I definitely agree with the brain training Dazza123, I do it very frequently and I think I'm getting better at it.

Davit: it is in fact the side I sleep on. You must be extremely strong to put cancer out of your mind, especially with your mother and brother.

I have a blood test on Tuesday, I saw a doctor again after the antibiotics hadnt worked and he said he suspects that it's the bacteria that causes glandular fever - now I just need to wait for the blood test and results. He suspects glandular fever because of the aches and pains along with all the other symptoms. That has eased my mind a lot, as whenever I worry about it being cancer I just google the symptoms of glandular fever & they describe exactly what I feel!

[charlottemelrose]

I have also had one of these lumps for a long time (at least 10 years) and I don't have cancer and the doctor said it was nothing to worry about.

[Davit]

I should probably worry because I grew up and lived close to a Uranium mine, the whole place was radio active. A lot of cancer came from that place. I now live 130 miles from the Cancer capital of BC. I was told this while waiting for my Girl friend who had Cancer. They found it early when they took out her appendix. It seems you either get it or you don't. Diet might help. I eat very little processed food. I raise and store most of what I eat and try to buy organic. There is one difference between me and my brother growing up and later, I fished and ate lots of fish. So did my grand parents who lived into their nineties.

[Daisies123]

Wow, it sounds like you guys have reason to be worried and aren't! Worrying never helps anything so it's pointless doing it, wish I could just stop.

I'm exhausted so it probably is just glandular fever. I just haven't heard back from the doctors yet so I'm still pretty worried.

[jojob123]

Hello, I´m new to the forum.
Sorry about my english it's not very good specially writing....
So, Dezember before christmas I've fellt a little swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck. I didn't worried about it because I'm always with a persinstent dandruff and at that time i've had a skin allergie for one week. In January I went to the doctor about this node but he seemed not to worry and said it was because I was having gengivitis.OK, this node did shrink but not disappeared.

In February I've felt another one on the left side, and then i went to another doctor who sent me to CBC and ultrasound. CBC was normal except that showed I've had Cytomegalovirus once in my life but it wasn't active in my body. The ultrasound showed two lymph nodes 2,6 x 0,6 and 2,3 x 0,9 in both sides jugulo digastric chain, both normal and no signs of malignancy. So my doctor said me to don't touch and wait that they are normal.

This all was 5 weeks ago and they still there a little smaller or the same size(I don't know ). I also had a Chest X ray normal, bur I'm sick worried about this nodes and i keep touching them and finding some very little ones around my neck(that probably was already there ) :(.

Have anyone experience something like this that turn out to be nothing?

[CoraB]

I do wish I would learn than Google never ever helps. Even when I do find something reassuring i seem to keep going until i am convinced I will be dead within weeks. Waiting for an appointment can be awful. i recently had to wait two weeks for an appointment for my boobs and I was absolutely beside myself crying all the time, having panic attacks and even thinking about killing myself if it was bad news. Then it came around and they said it was all fine! When I was there I kept looking around thinking why isn't everyone else here a quivering wreck like me.

I hope you got on ok at the doctors - do you feel reassured?

[Daisies123]

I do know the feeling, I'm an absolute wreck at the doctors.

I got the blood test results back that said it wasn't glandular fever so I've been worried since about what it could be, I have an appointment with my doctor on 6th May. I'm currently in China volunteering with pandas (I live in the UK) and we had to do medical tests here before we started work so I'm waiting for results from the X-rays I had done. I'm very nervous.

I'm also extremely anxious about catching an illness whilst I'm here and anxious that my boyfriend will find someone better than me whilst I'm gone for 2 weeks. I just can't shake all these bad feelings, it's horrible.