Swollen lymph node near breast underarm

[Ashleylauren]

Hi all,

this is my first time posting here but I have suffered from health anxiety and hypochondria my whole life. I have also been secretly stalking this forum for the past few weeks and it makes me feel so much better to read other people have the same worries as i do. I don't even care if anyone replies to this I just need to tell someone my worries!

a couple of months ago i was lying on my side and my boyfriend felt a lump on my ribcage, like 2 inches from my breast below underarm. when i am lying or standing normally the lump (which according to radiologist is a lymph node) hides in my breast fat. i have no idea how long this has been here as i normally do breast exams lying down on my back and the lymph node is so soft it blends in with my fat.

i went to a breast radiologist a week after finding it and he said it was a 1.8 cm lymph node that looked benign. he said to just check on it once a month to see if it grows, otherwise come back in 6 mos.

I honestly can't take it anymore, as you can understand, so I am going to ask my gynecologist to refer me to a surgeon when I see her on friday. I just want a biopsy as it is hard for me to believe a healthy lymph node can be swollen for this long.

This has caused so much stress in my life, and I have in my mind already decided that this is cancer. I can't even look forward to things that I would normally look forward to because I doubt that I will live long enough to enjoy anything. I brush my hair in the morning and admire it, thinking it will all be gone soon from chemo. I know this is stupid of me and I am jumping to conclusions but my mind can't help it. this is the first time I have had physical proof of a possible disease. I've had many imaginary diseases throughout my life (thought I had stomach cancer age 10, brain tumor age 11, heart disease age 13, list goes on).

I'm 25 and everyone keeps saying I'm too young for anything serious, but that statement means nothing to me. I have read plenty of blogs about women my age who have been diagnosed with all types of cancer.

Anyways this post has gotten too long and I am sorry for that. I am also freaking out about this tendon/muscle lump on top of my C7 vertebrae that disappears when I stretch my chin to my chest, but appears when I tilt my head back. This I believe is metastatic cancer from my breast but chiropractor said it is a tendon. I will be seeking second opinion of course.

thank you to anyone who reads this.

[mummato2]

Hi there,

You need to trust the medical professionals rather than seek all sorts of opinions.

How many different Dr's do you need to consult before believing them (not meant to be a narky comment a genuine question)

If you are asking a breast surgeon to remove a perfectly normal lymph node because it is worrying you - I have to ask whether you think this is going to be a healthy approach? You already think that you have another cancerous lump that has been identified as a tendon - do you get that removed as well?

Then when they're both removed and you start panicking about metastatic disease around your body and you get belly aches (for example) and a Dr tells you that it is nothing - will you ask for exploratory surgery?

I am not trying to be fickle with your concern. I am trying to show you just how big anxiety can get when you let it rule your life.

You did a VERY sensible thing by getting a lump that you felt for the first time checked via ultrasound. This is a great tool to show what is tumor, issue or other. If a radiologist said it is a normal lymph node - you have to trust them.

For the record, I have fibrocystic breasts and I too have felt lumps that need confirming via ultrasound. It can be a tough wait and I know all too well that overwhelming feeling of wanting them removed.

For a while I said to my husband "I wish I could get both breasts removed and the problem would be gone" - but you know what, he nailed it when he said "ok, we do that and then what will be the next thing you get anxious over".

He was right.

You need to trust the medical team around you. I am in Australia and I know they can be a bit cautious about litigation but in the US I have experienced first hand how over the top treatment options can be in fear of malpractice suits. I guarantee you if there was an ounce of doubt in that scan or in your tendon the first thing that would have happened is you would have been referred for biopsy.

Lymph nodes can remain large for a LONG period of time. I have one in my right jaw that has been enlarged for 15 years. It swelled (as is the normal function) after I had the flu when I was a teenager and now at 34 I still have the large node just hanging around. It's firm and round and was very worrying - but now I have come to accept that is a part of me.

Trust the radiologist. It was a breast radiologist no less. Trust them and trust the result that this is just a lymph node xxxx

[Ashleylauren]

thanks for your reply. I know everything you're saying is right...my gut always tells me this is nothing but then this stupid side of my brain that likes analyzing every single thing goes into overdrive sometimes.

i'm happy I have found this site as this is really the only safe place for me at the moment

[honeycakes]

The above person is right. People get lymph nodes all the time. My young sister even has a cyst the size of golf ball which they are keeping track of but no surgery required. If the doctor said it looked benign, do not worry yourself sick like that. Get a second opinion if you want, get it bisected as well but for the love of God you're worrying yourself sick... Are you going to go picking out your tombstone after all that? :P Listen, there are plenty of people getting and beating cancer's ass every single day so worse case scenario -- it's that, and you beat it, and you survive and have a story to tell. But you can't write your future. And you can't drive yourself sick over something that hasn't happened.

Above poster was right also when they said that if it's not this thing, it'll be something else that you'll find and worry about. I know this is easier said then done - but let it go. Stop worrying about it.

[stars22]

hey hun i have two swollen lymphnodes on back of my nck had them since i was about 13 i still have them im22 it started with one then two but i know how scary and frustrating it is and too this day i feel them everyday thats 9 years of prodding them now and 3 doctors trips that have said they wont touch them until they get to the size of a golf ball !
the thing is apparently you can have a infection or whatever that makes your lymphnodes swell once the infection has cleared some peoples bodys like forget about them and dont make them go back down this is what my doctor said and as scary as it is and it is for me as hodgkins lymphoma runs in my family it is really common no doubt you will forget about them in a couple of weeks it will always pop back up again because you know they are there if they start getting bigger or if they start hurting (mine occasionally hurt ) or go red go to doctors if you really feel you need them checking out then dont give up but it is really common and not everything is a bad thing x

[Ashleylauren]

thank you for your reassurance! i've also read on here about a girl who had the same lymph node as mine swell up and just stayed like that. so I am calming down a bit now that I know others have had this as well