View Full Version : Lymph node fear :(
So yesterday I noticed a pea sized lymph node on the side of my neck right at the bottom of it. I am a little sick so I was just thinking it’s to do with that, although I was still worried because when I’m sick it’s the nodes under my jaw that usually swell - I’ve never noticed one on the side bottom of my neck. Then I read that lymph nodes swelling near the collarbone or bottom area of the neck are often cancerous! I don’t know if this is referring to ones that are very large in size, but I’m panicking this is the start of a cancer and it’ll just grow from here - it’s soft and it moves but it wasn’t painful (until I pressed it). I feel really worried
Anyone else had a lymph node on the side of their neck near the bottom which was fine?
I had a look and it's in the 'posterior cervical chain' so definitely lower neck area. Is that a bad sign?
'posterior cervical chain'
^^^ Reeks of Google.
^^^ Reeks of Google.
Obviously not ideal, I know. But I just can't shake the worry because it's such an unusual place for me to have a swollen lymph node so far down my neck
Obviously not ideal, I know. But I just can't shake the worry because it's such an unusual place for me to have a swollen lymph node so far down my neck
Since when is "pea sized" swollen?
Positive thoughts
Not the best term then. I have one on the right side of my neck in the same spot which is 'pea size' and feels normal, while the one on the left side feels double the size so I would say it's swollen. Double the size though, relatively, is probably still only the size of a small bean. It's around 1cm or less, I am just worried it will grow or not go down to the size it should (as indicated on the other side)
Drs dont get excited about pea size lymphnodes or bean size lymphnodes.. Also, lymphnodes are not cancer detectors, just because one has an enlarged lymphnode does not mean they have cancer.
I am not sure where you read what you read that if someone has an enlarged lymphnode in that area that its likely to be cancer because I have a shoddy lymphnode in that area and its of no concern.
The lymphnodes are the bodies filters. They enlarge for all kinds of reasons most of which are completely benign. I am not sure why out of all the cancers out there everyone seems to get anxious over this one the most. Blood cancers when compared to other types of cancers are actually considered rare. I know it doesn't seem that way but it's TRUE. There are fewer then 200,000 cases of lymphoma in the US per year.
Try not to worry yourself crazy over this. There are more symptoms then just enlarged lymphnodes when someone has lymphoma and from all the stories I have ever read of the people who have had battled this had noticeably enlarged lymphnodes.
Must be the month for Lymphoma or nodes,just like the measles outbreak at the moment
You will be fine :D
Hoping so! Still the same size and freaking me out :(
I also once read that lymphoma can present as 'persisting' flu symptoms such as a sore throat, and for the past few days I've had a sore throat and then noticed the node - but sore throat drains to the nodes under the jaw, not the posterior cervical chain so that worries me
Since you'll poke holes to keep your dragon breathing and are a graduate of Google U, I'll just say I hope you feel better soon :)
Positive thoughts
Since you'll poke holes to keep your dragon breathing and are a graduate of Google U, I'll just say I hope you feel better soon :)
Positive thoughts
Hahaha, can't say you are wrong there...I also am about to graduate from studying physiology in the real world, so I know the logic behind lymph nodes etc but as usual the anxious mind overtakes the rational one.
Hahaha, can't say you are wrong there...I also am about to graduate from studying physiology in the real world, so I know the logic behind lymph nodes etc but as usual the anxious mind overtakes the rational one.
Then you know better! Tell your anxious mind to STFU then! Now that I know you're a student of physiology, you know I'm going to challenge you to state the facts from now on :winks:
Positive thoughts
Then you know better! Tell your anxious mind to STFU then! Now that I know you're a student of physiology, you know I'm going to challenge you to state the facts from now on :winks:
Positive thoughts
Hahah thank you for the tough love when I need it most! I will try to keep rational and stop obsessing. Now to put that into practice...
Okay, noticed a lymph node at the back of my neck now. It's very small and I am a thin person so I'm trying to imagine it was always there...time will tell I guess.
Stop. Poking. And. Prodding!
Positive thoughts
Okay, noticed a lymph node at the back of my neck now. It's very small and I am a thin person so I'm trying to imagine it was always there...time will tell I guess.
If I was your patient and I came to you with this worry... from a psychological perspective, what would you tell me?
Okay, noticed a lymph node at the back of my neck now. It's very small and I am a thin person so I'm trying to imagine it was always there...time will tell I guess.
I felt a lump lump on the back of my neck last week,turned out too be a bloody mozzie bite that got infected.
Time for you too let go of this and get out and live.:D
It's definitely a lymph node! But more likely than not poking at it caused it to swell even more, and if I had left it then it may have been less swollen. Trying to keep busy and not worry but everything is still pretty much the same size. Wish it would hurry up and go down! *Actually, wish both of them would go down now*
I'm planning to go overseas in just over a month and just want to enjoy my time so want this all to go away by then!
Dimdim101 how come you haven't answered me ?
Dimdim101 how come you haven't answered me ?
To answer your question, I would tell myself to stop obsessing, since doctors would be thinking logically. And I do tell myself this same advice, but of course when it's you affected it's easier to catastrophise and obsess that you are one of those rare ones who will get sick.
I have had 2 pea sized lymph nodes in the posterior cervical triangle for about 6 months (one on each side). Had them checked out countless times by several docs, none is concerned. So most probably they are just shotty or normal nodes. Seems like some of us can just feel their nodes...
I have had 2 pea sized lymph nodes in the posterior cervical triangle for about 6 months (one on each side). Had them checked out countless times by several docs, none is concerned. So most probably they are just shotty or normal nodes. Seems like some of us can just feel their nodes...
I wouldn't really call mine pea sized, but they are not 'large' either. On the right I feel the 'pea sized' versions, so the 2 on the left are somewhat swollen but still I guess wouldn't be considered that worrying by most people, at least for now. I just fear the unknown and that they will grow into something sinister as I can't find a clear explanation as to why they've gone up
*Especially since they are painless that worries me too, although they could just be painless since they are still considered small (and if they really were majorly enlarged then they would be tender)
Was feeling better about things and staying positive until today :weep: Had these random chest pains, which of course is another symptom of lymphoma. I have no idea how that chest pain presents, but for me I was bending forward to type on my laptop which was on a table lower than my chair, and when I breathed in it happened - it's like a weirdly sharp yet dull pain which radiated through my chest. It happened a few times in that position, and it's something which I have had before when lying on my side and breathing it. While it sounds positional, and potentially related to air and a need to burp maybe? Considering the lymph nodes in my neck I am just stressing so much :wacko: It's been a week now and they haven't changed in size, which doesn't really make me that relieved anyway, and now with this happening I'm way more stressed.
Was feeling better about things and staying positive until today :weep: Had these random chest pains, which of course is another symptom of lymphoma. I have no idea how that chest pain presents, but for me I was bending forward to type on my laptop which was on a table lower than my chair, and when I breathed in it happened - it's like a weirdly sharp yet dull pain which radiated through my chest. It happened a few times in that position, and it's something which I have had before when lying on my side and breathing it. While it sounds positional, and potentially related to air and a need to burp maybe? Considering the lymph nodes in my neck I am just stressing so much :wacko: It's been a week now and they haven't changed in size, which doesn't really make me that relieved anyway, and now with this happening I'm way more stressed.
I also am about to graduate from studying physiology in the real world, so I know the logic behind lymph nodes
Stop poking and prodding as you know that can inflame them and make them shotty.
Positive thoughts
Can someone explain what a 'rubbery' lymph node is?
While my lymph nodes are not hard or fixed, what worries me is that lymphoma is often found with 'rubbery, firm, mobile lymph nodes.' Mine are mobile, but the term 'rubbery' confuses me, isn't this the opposite of firm? So with lymphoma you can have firm or rubbery nodes - are they not opposite to each other? - is rubbery considered to be firm, or can rubbery also mean soft? My lymph nodes are oval-shaped, mobile, and I would be more inclined to call them soft rather than firm...
I just noticed another one on the right side even lower down... The 2 on the right side seem 'normal' since they don't really 'stick up' as much, and I guess they are just feelable since I'm thin? Maybe they were always there but I just never poked around to know...
But still the 2 on the left side and back seem somewhat swollen? I hope within a few weeks they do go
Can someone explain what a 'rubbery' lymph node is?
I also am about to graduate from studying physiology in the real world, so I know the logic behind lymph nodes
:whistles:
Positive thoughts
:whistles:
Positive thoughts
I swear they never went into that detail! I really would say they are soft though, so I will again try relax. Doesn't help when you have final exams coming up and your mind is already in overdrive:scared15:
I also forgot that around 2 months ago I was drying my hair and noticed a lump on my collarbone pop out... it's weird in that if I touch it, it'll slide over the top of my collarbone (below the skin) and disappear, and to get it back I'll have to stick my arm out a certain way. It's somewhat squishy but still firm, and since it's on the same side as the other 2 neck ones I'm really stressing now that it's all connected. The one in the collarbone has not grown within the 2 months which is good I guess - when I had forgotten about it I had convinced myself it was a fat lump or something, but now with these new neck ones I'm all over the place again, worrying about something spreading :(
It is JUST LIKE this explanation:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=306755&page=1
Unfortunately he never updated...
https://community.lymphoma-action.org.uk/t/how-i-was-diagnosed-with-not-having-lymphoma/2093
Found this aswell. Every description I've read of anything similar has been a 'fatty lump' apparently, which is actually what I convinced myself of 2 months ago but now with the new ones in the neck I'm going a bit crazy and have really convinced myself of lymphoma. However, if that collarbone thing is just a fat lump, then lymph nodes on my body can appear anywhere for unconnected reasons, and it may just coincidentally be on that side (could be my wisdom teeth as I have pain there sometimes, I had a scab on that side of my scalp, and even a pimple behind my ear on that side recently - If I go as far as connecting the 'fat' lump to it, I may aswell assume all those other things could be contributing too!)
I have touched them every day for the past 2 weeks which is obviously why they wouldn't change, so I will try my hardest to leave it for a week.
Collarbone lumps seem to be an issue when you can feel them at all times so since this is a weird disappearing one that only appears with arm movements doesn't really seem as concerning anyway...If it slides up over my collarbone and disappears, maybe it's just returning within fatty tissue or something
I also am about to graduate from studying physiology in the real world, so I know the logic behind lymph nodes
Stopping the poking and prodding will certainly help because as you know that can inflame them and make them shotty.
Positive thoughts
was feeling better until I decided to have a quick google which set me into a spiral again...
I was reading how unlike other malignancies, lymphoma nodes are often soft and moveable, and in the posterior triangle of the neck (me). It also said 'lymphoma spreading to the skin is known as mycosis fungoides and looks like a red, scaly rash' - I have been dealing with random red patches for over a year now - obviously more likely than anything it's eczema or something, but this is freaking me out again :(
If this collarbone bump was something sinister, would it have grown by now? It appeared at least 7 months ago and has not changed. If the swollen lymph nodes in my neck are cancer spreading, I would expect that lump would have grown in the process, rather than just stay the same if it was spreading something? If that lump is just there and its going to stay that way, unrelated notes could pop up I hate google - all it says is that collarbone lumps, especially on the left side are always a bad sign. But mine is mobile, goes over the collarbone and back under it... its a bit weird, but maybe it's just one of those things and it's nothing even serious...
Why not quit using Google and let your fears settle down?
Im just not sure if it is worth checking and going through that process of tests etc and I am struggling to let it go. I have realised that this little lump lives in the hollow of my collarbone - with arm movements, or if i press it a bit, it will pop up and slide over my collarbone - I am naturally thin so that is probably why? I was feeling on the right side, and when I press, the skin doesn't go 'in' as much so it is harder to feel, but I feel something somewhat similar, though it is hard to tell. It may just be that because the skin is firmer there, it can't travel around and 'escape' its hollow...for all I know it may just be a normal lymph node that can escape its area
I'm also feeling confused... I was thinking the supraclavicular lymph nodes are BEHIND the collarbone (like in the hollow area), but are they on top of the collarbone? As mine is in the hollow, and I have to feel quite deep (but this isn't how I found it! I found it because movement of my arm causes it to slide on top of the collarbone and that's when I first saw it). Maybe where I am feeling there aren't even nodes?
Even if it is a node, it seems as though it only can escape the area because I am thin...I don't know
was feeling better until I decided to have a quick google which set me into a spiral again...
I was reading how unlike other malignancies, lymphoma nodes are often soft and moveable, and in the posterior triangle of the neck (me). It also said 'lymphoma spreading to the skin is known as mycosis fungoides and looks like a red, scaly rash' - I have been dealing with random red patches for over a year now - obviously more likely than anything it's eczema or something, but this is freaking me out again :(
Ok, STOP. I know how you're feeling, because I went through this exact panic spiral last year, which ended up with me weeping to my GP that I 'have lymphoma' and being prescribed Sertraline for severe health anxiety. Right now, I have a larger-than-usual lymph node under my left jawline, which is almost certainly caused by the fact that I got new ear piercings last week, and they're irritated/healing; and I'm working hard to not constantly feel my neck and assume the worst. (The Sertraline helps).
Blood cancers in younger people are very rare, and more often than not are accompanied by other, very noticeable symptoms. One of my uncles died as a result of non-Hodgkins lymphoma several years ago (one of several deaths in the family which triggered my HA), and he was diagnosed after various severe symptoms which landed him in the A&E.
You might want to consider something which my therapist suggested to me: catastrophising. Essentially, those of us who don't deal well with uncertainty and like to be in control of things have a tendency to assume the very worst; BECAUSE, perversely, assuming the worst-case scenario is a way of feeling in control. So, a minor physical symptom which *could* be a sign of something serious, but almost certainly isn't, is inflated into 'I definitely have Stage IV cancer' because that scenario offers a form of certainty, which we then start adjusting to. Seriously, the number of times I've started planning my own funeral (I'm 34!) because I, an otherwise rational and intelligent person, have been convinced that I'm terminally ill on the basis of some minor rash or cough...
This is definitely spot on. I HATE uncertainty, hence my obvious health fears, but also my fear of planes, my need to organise everything etc. The main thing I can't let go is this behind the collarbone (especially left side) location of this lump - I've been able to feel nodes in my jaw/neck since forever so I don't care about that. Not to mention the many googles I've done where it says 'I had no other symptoms but a lump,' but really that's probably a very small minority. But I did dig into the right side and found something in the same collarbone area, seems a similar size, but just tucked away under muscle etc and can't be moved. So I think in the end it may be a lymph node, but it's just a normal one. For some reason, the one on my left can move all around, in front and behind of the collarbone, and the right one can't, and maybe that's just me and I'll need to get over it.
I will REALLY try because I have so much to look forward to this year - I'm about to finish university and in 3 weeks head to Europe for 2 months, and this is really making me feel like everything that I was excited for in the future is being destroyed in front of my eyes. But the only thing destroying anything is me and my crazy mind.
Just wanted to share something...although poking and prodding and worrying is such a waste of time, I think it has helped me in the end - I have realised I have something on the other side in the same spot (as I said before), but on the other side I thought I couldn't move it. Well I really tried to scoop underneath it and it moved! If you feel your collarbone at the top, there are little strings (tendons I think), and on the left side, when the lump is dislodged and slides over my collarbone, the little string disappears too - it seems like its some random lump attached to a tendon, that's all! So who cares what it is because I doubt cancer presents like this.
TIME TO MOVE ON
So an annoying update...
Since posting such a triumphant post, I ended up messing with the lump on the right a bit and moving it to the front of my collarbone, realising it's about a centimetre in size. To me that seems a little big for that 'scary' region, but anyway... Then, about a week ago, I started getting this weird sensation at the base of the throat (right around where the 2 collarbones meet and there's a little dip). It's the same feeling if you press on that area (kind of tickles and makes you need to cough). From my previous googles I did read that lymphoma can cause a cough if there is a tumour in the chest wall/thymus.
Since then, I've been convinced I have some mass starting in my chest/thymus. I notice this weird sensation as I walk and my chest moves up and down, and especially when I lie on my side. Since it's already sensitive for some reason, I assume pressure on the chest (due to bending certain ways or lying on my side) would make it worse, but I'm really stressed it's some mass - I ended up getting a chest X ray which was clear, but am worried this wouldn't find a small mass e.g. in my thymus. This feeling did start after many days of prodding the collarbone node and studying in a bad posture position, so I am trying to assume it's just something to do with my chest muscles, but I really don't know...
I have come to terms with the collarbone lump as I read a couple posts of people saying they had collarbone ones of 1cm (or even 1.5cm!) turn out to be normal, however this feeling is SO uncomfortable (and so hard to ignore too because I keep feeling it when I turn certain ways etc). I'm not sure if I should bother getting an ultrasound of my thymus or just try let it go...
I also got a lateral chest x ray (from the side) so i'm assuming a mass in the chest area would have definitely shown up there... gah! Just wish this horrible sensation would GO
The feeling also gets better when I eat. Like I can eat a proper meal and then move around and the weird sensation doesn't happen anymore or is greatly reduced...would that be a good thing? I assume if it was some growth there the feeling would always be there (or worse with food) though I'm not sure.
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