Cancer worries

[nickydange]

Ok so I found two supraclavicular lymph nodes! One on each side, the one the right is a little soft but palpable and the one on the left is really soft and palpable. For the past like 6 months every time I go to the doctor's I get strep tested and it always comes out positive. I feel fine but somehow I have strep? Anyway I have some other swollen lymph nodes in my neck and under my jaw but the supraclavicular ones scare me the most. Can someone pleaase help? I don't know what to do and I'm really scared. I'm still in high school so I don't know if being young makes a difference. Also, when I got my antibiotics like 6 months ago I was really inconsistent with taking them and didn't finish them for a while. But I have just finished my second round after 6 months and it made no difference in my lymph nodes? Please help I am worried sick! It's all I can think about.

[Captain irrational]

I've been told some people can be carriers of strep bacteria without it causing any infections, it just lives in your mouth and nose without causing any problems. This is likely why you are testing positive and why the antibiotics won't touch it, because it's not actually infecting your body.

As for lymph nodes, they are pretty much a law unto themselves. Some people have soft ones, some have hard ones, some have soft and hard ones, some puff up and down constantly, some people can feel loads of them, some people can't feel any at all (and by God, do I envy those lucky *******s!), sometimes some are bigger than others for no apparent reason at all, sometimes they enlarge and stay enlarged forever. And to confuse matters even further, every health related website seems to have a different opinion on what is "normal" for lymph nodes and what isn't. I am increasingly of the opinion that there is no absolute "normal" when it comes to lymph nodes, everybody's behave slightly differently, so really you have to figure what is normal for you.

As a general rule of thumb though, nodes that are small, moveable and not continually growing in size or drastically changing in texture or shape, are usually nothing to worry about.

[nickydange]

I've been told some people can be carriers of strep bacteria without it causing any infections, it just lives in your mouth and nose without causing any problems. This is likely why you are testing positive and why the antibiotics won't touch it, because it's not actually infecting your body.

As for lymph nodes, they are pretty much a law unto themselves. Some people have soft ones, some have hard ones, some puff up and down constantly, some people can feel loads of them, some people can't feel any at all (and by God, do I envy those lucky *******s!), sometimes some are bigger than others for no apparent reason at all, sometimes they enlarge and stay enlarged forever. And to confuse matters even further, every health related website seems to have a different opinion on what is "normal" for lymph nodes and what isn't. I am increasingly of the opinion that there is no absolute "normal" when it comes to lymph nodes, everybody's behave slightly differently, so really you have to figure what is normal for you.

As a general rule of thumb though, nodes that are small, moveable and not continually growing in size or drastically changing in texture or shape, are usually nothing to worry about.

So do you think I'm alright then? I had my doctor feel the one on the right and he said "everyone has that" but I really don't believe that..

[Joe Hayes]

To echo the post above, I had a few lumps on my upper thigh/lower groin a few months ago--felt them one morning and started to freak out.

After googling (at 4:20 in the morning) stories of a local baseball player and manager who I remembered had beaten lymphoma (because I had already diagnosed myself), I started to read lymphoma sites began to think about the way these lumps felt, moved/did not move, etc.

Was examined the next week and the doctor's perception of what I was feeling was DRASTICALLY different than what I perceived I was feeling based on what I had read. Ultrasound showed fatty lipomas, not at all what I feared.

So...remember perception is different and we aren't trained. What we think are lumps may very well be what doctors know are "nothing to worry about"

[nickydange]

To echo the post above, I had a few lumps on my upper thigh/lower groin a few months ago--felt them one morning and started to freak out.

After googling (at 4:20 in the morning) stories of a local baseball player and manager who I remembered had beaten lymphoma (because I had already diagnosed myself), I started to read lymphoma sites began to think about the way these lumps felt, moved/did not move, etc.

Was examined the next week and the doctor's perception of what I was feeling was DRASTICALLY different than what I perceived I was feeling based on what I had read. Ultrasound showed fatty lipomas, not at all what I feared.

So...remember perception is different and we aren't trained. What we think are lumps may very well be what doctors know are "nothing to worry about"
Would it help if what I feel is on both sides?

[Joe Hayes]

I recall my doc saying symmetrical is good (but not the only good) in these things.

[nickydange]

If I stand at a certain angle you can kind of see the right supraclavicular lymph node protruding from the top of my skin, it looks like it's right on top of a vein. Could it actually be there on the vein or is my anxiety just playing tricks with me??