Painful armpit lump. so scared.

[emeraldgirl]

Please, please help me. I have had a painful armpit for a few days and have been trying to distract myself. last night I finally had to poke and have found a bean shaped, hard lump. I am out of my mind with worry thinking it is lymphoma or breast cancer. i have had recent blood tests due to bowel cancer scare - does lymphoma show up in blood tests? I just don't know how to get through the weekend, I feel so scared and feel like giving up - its one thing after another and i have only just settled down after recent bowel cancer scare.
thanks for reading

[AnnOBrien]

Hi there, I understand the worry something like that can cause, and why do these things always happen on a Friday night / Saturday morning! I suppose what you have to remember is that a lump in the armpit can be caused by many things e.g. skin infection due to your deodorant, or a bacterial infection of a lymph node, they don't always mean something scary. When I have a scare I try to think of all the things that the symptom is more likely to be, rather than thinking the worst. It will put your mind at ease to get a doctor appointment on Monday morning and get an opinion on the cause.

Let us know how you are doing and have some virtual *hugs*,
Ann

[emeraldgirl]

Thank you so much for your reply. It really helps to know you are not alone. I had tried to think infection but the lump is under the skin and there is no obvious sore on the skin. I was hoping it would come out as a boil then I would know what it was but it is definitely inside

[AnnOBrien]

Well if there is no sore on the skin perhaps its just a cyst. You said you had recent blood tests, so if there was something serious going on that would have showed up in your bloods, even if that was a few weeks ago, as these things don't happen overnight. So, remember that, repeat it to yourself and try and distract yourself with something today (extremely hard I know, I've been there, but possible!). Give your doc a call Monday morning to get an appointment and find out what it might be and to put your mind at ease :-)

[Mick081081]

Hiya,

Do you shave your armpits? If so it could be an ingrowing hair my wife gets them sometimes. Also like Ann says it might be your deodorant my sweat glands get blocked if I use certain deodorants which makes them swell and be painful so try using a different deodorant. If the lump has just popped up over say a week then don't worry it's definitely not cancer as that grows slowly and wouldn't be painful. Hope this helps and take care.

Mick.

[Anxious_gal]

Lymph nodes do get sore.
Lymphoma I think is rare enough n 40% of cases are in young children .
I would assume you'd have more than one lump or a really big one that doesn't go away .
I guess it'd be good to mention it to your doctor
Try not to fear the worst x
I'm sure something would show up in the blood work , like too many white blood cells.
I know my cousins cancer showed up in her blood work x

[swgrl09]

I have this fear, so I always remind myself and others of stats that I read from some medical website that 99% of nodes in people under 40 are benign, and if you are over 40 it is like 95% or something are benign. Pretty good stats I would say.

[Hypo]

And lymphoma cancer and other cancerous lumps aren't usually painful... another good sign that you are just fine

[emeraldgirl]

Thank you so much everyone - I feel really supported even though I don't know any of you. I know too, that you have all been in similar situations and that helps too. I am trying to be positive and just hoping you are all right when you say it wouldn't hurt if it was serious. At least I am almost a day nearer being able to see the doctor. i hate wishing my life away like this and what a waste of a weekend.

[Kelseywelseyyy]

I've had this doll and thought the same as you, but went the doctor and they said it was just a cyst and something to do with it being a sweaty area! If you have a lump in your arm pit it can mean that you have one in your breast, so all the doctor will do is check your breast. It will put hour mind at rest x