Swelling in neck - lymph node?

[vpfrends]

I posted before about a small lump on my scalp, which is probably a benign cyst, and managed to more or less convince myself there was nothing to worry about. However, yesterday I felt a slight swelling on the left side of the back of my neck, underneath the lump on my head. Immediately I worried it was a swollen lymph node, and because it was painless to me that meant cancer. Since then I've been touching it non stop, which had made the area painful, but I know it wasn't at first. It might have gone down slightly but I might have also felt another tiny lump and I just have no idea what it is.

I couldn't resist googling it, which I know is a terrible habit, but the result that came up for a swollen lymph node in that particular place was a type of cancer. I have no other symptoms but I'm so scared, and it's making me very depressed. I am going to the doctor about it but I just can't stop touching it, and ever since last night I've just been certain I have a terminal illness and my life is going to end, which is something I can't handle. I'm 21, I know it's unlikely, but I can't deal with the possibility. Does anyone have anything similar? Thanks.

[GingerFish]

I've been down the 'worried about lymph nodes' road before so I know the anxiety you are feeling at the mo. My worries still flare up now and again even though I've had my nodes checked. I am 22 and my nodes came up last year following a bad ear infection. I have a grape sized one behind my jaw bone and a small pea sized one lower down in my neck. I prodded them both when they first came up no less than 100 times a day, to the point they were agony and so was the surrounding area and muscles.

I got them checked out 3 times and each time the docs said they were tiny and felt fine to them and nothing to worry about but understood my worries as it can be quite alarming to feel lumps on yourself. especially if you've never noticed a swollen lymph node on yourself before.

A year on, they haven't grown at all but like I said, every now and again, the panic about them still creeps up.

My GP told me that you should only worry about lymph nodes if they grow bigger than pea size (unless you have an infection then its common for them to be bigger than pea size but gradually go down again once you recover), you have multiple swollen nodes all over your body and if they are rock hard. My jaw one was rock hard which worried me but I got told its common for jaw nodes to be hard. The one in my lower neck was in a area commonly associated with lymphoma lymph nodes as well which freaked me out. Googling is the worst thing you can ever do when you have a health worry but I wont lecture you as I still Google health worries almost once a day!