Having a tough time.. lymph nodes

[goldie84]

Hi everyone happy new year. I’m having a tough time not self checking today. I was feeling around in my neck between collarbone and neck and felt some lymph nodes there.. not sure if they’ve always been there. Working myself up a bit if I’m honest. I stopped what I was doing and now feel panic and frozen. Lymphoma is a huge trigger for me.. my dad died from it. Can anyone please tell me if I’m being irrational?

[GRVY]

Just posted this on a different thread. Hope it helps.

I have been there over lymph nodes as well. I have a lot of them and nothing ever comes of it. It started 9 years ago. I noticed a posterior cervical node on left side just under a centimeter in size. Freaked me out. Saw a dr who said it was nothing. Saw an ent who could tell I was concerned and order a ct scan. Scan came back saying I have several shorty nodes under 1 cm all along that chain of nodes. And a jugular lymph node that was a decent size but not too big.

Fast forward 8 years and I got some kind bite on my upper arm. Lymph node above elbow swelled up to the size of a grape or bigger. Again scared the hell out of me. That is when I noticed I had one on the other arm above the elbow about the size of a pea. Went to the drs office. He gave me antibiotics because my arm was getting red from the bite. Lymph node was painless which scared me because I have read they get tender when fighting infection. Antiobiotics took care what the dr diagnosed as cellulitis. About a week after I stopped using Antibiotics the lymphnode shrank to the same pea size as the other node above the other elbow. I googled these nodes and of course saw that these nodes are never normally palpable. Back to the dr I go to express my concern. He feels all around and finds 3 more lymph nodes in my armpit on both sides. So that is 8 palpable nodes found within a year. Telling that I was anxious he sends me for a chest and abdomen ct scan. Scan results say nothing about any enlarged nodes. It literally say no adenopathy or no significant adenopathy in any region that has lymphnodes.

I ask the dr how big they are. The armpit ones range from 1.5 centimeters to 8mm. The elbow ones are 6mm to 7mm. The dr says he is not concerned. Radiologist who probably sees cancer on scans pretty often didn’t make any notes on anything. At that point I put it out of my head. I check them about every 2 weeks to see if they change which they haven’t.

The point in this long winded post is that sometimes they are just there. I have no idea how long mine were palpable in my armpits and above elbows. Could have been theee for years for all I know. Mine one day decided to enlarge ever so slightly to the point where you can feel them and they have just stayed that way. Maybe because of some past systemic infection or maybe just because. Who knows. My dr said the chances of these being lymphoma are so slim that he doesn’t feel necessary to biopsy them because of the complications that can arise from removing lymphnodes, which is remote. So to put that in perspective, my dr feels that the tiny, small chance of having complications from a lymph node biopsy are greater than any chance that my lymph nodes are from cancer. I hope that helps. Have a great new year.

ETA: I also have 5mm left supraclavicular lymphnode that drs are not worried about. It has never changed sizes unless I play with it.

Also there is nothing wrong with getting them checked since you have a family history of it but if they are small I wouldn’t be too worried.

[goldie84]

Just posted this on a different thread. Hope it helps.

I have been there over lymph nodes as well. I have a lot of them and nothing ever comes of it. It started 9 years ago. I noticed a posterior cervical node on left side just under a centimeter in size. Freaked me out. Saw a dr who said it was nothing. Saw an ent who could tell I was concerned and order a ct scan. Scan came back saying I have several shorty nodes under 1 cm all along that chain of nodes. And a jugular lymph node that was a decent size but not too big.

Fast forward 8 years and I got some kind bite on my upper arm. Lymph node above elbow swelled up to the size of a grape or bigger. Again scared the hell out of me. That is when I noticed I had one on the other arm above the elbow about the size of a pea. Went to the drs office. He gave me antibiotics because my arm was getting red from the bite. Lymph node was painless which scared me
because I have read they get tender when fighting infection. Antiobiotics took care what the dr diagnosed as cellulitis. About a week after I stopped using Antibiotics the lymphnode shrank to the same pea size as the other node above the other elbow. I googled these nodes and of course saw that these nodes are never normally palpable. Back to the dr I go to express my concern. He feels all around and finds 3 more lymph nodes in my armpit on both sides. So that is 8 palpable nodes found within a year. Telling that I was anxious he sends me for a chest and abdomen ct scan. Scan results say nothing about any enlarged nodes. It literally say no adenopathy or no significant adenopathy in any region that has lymphnodes.

I ask the dr how big they are. The armpit ones range from 1.5 centimeters to 8mm. The elbow ones are 6mm to 7mm. The dr says he is not concerned. Radiologist who probably sees cancer on scans pretty often didn’t make any notes on anything. At that point I put it out of my head. I check them about every 2 weeks to see if they change which they haven’t.

The point in this long winded post is that sometimes they are just there. I have no idea how long mine were palpable in my armpits and above elbows. Could have been theee for years for all I know. Mine one day decided to enlarge ever so slightly to the point where you can feel them and they have just stayed that way. Maybe because of some past systemic infection or maybe just because. Who knows. My dr said the chances of these being lymphoma are so slim that he doesn’t feel necessary to biopsy them because of the complications that can arise from removing lymphnodes, which is remote. So to put that in perspective, my dr feels that the tiny, small chance of having complications from a lymph node biopsy are greater than any chance that my lymph nodes are from cancer. I hope that helps. Have a great new year.

ETA: I also have 5mm left supraclavicular lymphnode that drs are not worried about. It has never changed sizes unless I play with it.

Also there is nothing wrong with getting them checked since you have a family history of it but if they are small I wouldn’t be too worried.

Thank you for the info. I don’t know why I’m so triggered right now. I am trying so hard to not freak out. I just went down the google rabbit hole of genetic predisposition to lymphoma. My dad was 72 when he got it and was a heavy smoker and had a very sedentary lifestyle. I’m hoping that my chances are not high for having this passed down to me.

[Mocky444]

I have Chronic lymphocytic leaukimia.. Many swolen lymph nodes etc.. I was diagnosed through a routine blood test for something else.. I am 42 but was diagnoses at 40 which is very young for this disease.. I have 5 young children and i have been a long term health anxiety sufferer, way before cancer came along.. The doctors know what they are doing.. If they say you are fine then 99 times out 10 they are correct.. There is a small chance of mis-diagnosis but you woild have to be so unfortunate to be one of those. Get it checked out and then move on with confidence.. Think about my stress levels and i have it!! Take solace in that and move on with your life.. Hope things work out for you guys