Worried about lymphoma again :/

[Dimdim101]

About 4 months ago I was worrying a lot about a little lump behind my collarbone. I went overseas and basically got over my fears but they’ve been re triggered as a mutual friend has just been diagnosed with stage 4 Hodkin’s lymphoma. She mentioned her symptoms had been slowly progressing for almost a year and things really became an issue when she found some lumps in the collarbone area that were very swollen and didn’t go away. She mentioned they were rubbery and painless, and she could move them (whereas I always thought they would be hard like a rock). She also didn’t have many other symptoms apart from a cough for over a year due to masses in her lungs (I had a weird cough for 2 months or so but that’s gone now).

I really only worry because I have a lymph node that I can feel on both sides behind my collarbone that are painless (rubbery I don’t know what that really means so can’t confirm?) - they don’t stick out - I need to press behind to feel them and I am quite naturally thin - but I worry that like her it is slowly progressing and I’m noticing the early stages and before I know it I will be diagnosed with lymphoma. I need to press behind the collarbone to feel them both... the one on the left usually moves in front of my collarbone with my arm movements and then rolls back over behind it, while the other one stays behind the right collar bone unless I move it.

Despite her very large lymph nodes, it still took 3 months for her to be confirmed with lymphoma (and even after receiving a needle biopsy which came back negative!). She was reassured it was nothing but then it was, so that really makes me feel there’s nothing I can do - no testing will actually reassure me, so I’m just not sure where to go from here. Especially with her symptoms slowly progressing over a year, I feel like only after a year or more of this will I calm down :(

My lymph nodes haven’t changed at all in the last 4 months, it’s just that I’m worried that they can be felt at all in the collar bone region because apparently that’s always a bad sign (however they are very small - one is pea sized, the other is a bit bigger, more bean sized). It’s the bigger one that scares me since I worry it may be a little over 1cm in length (but <1cm in width). But again hasn’t changed in over 4 months...

Does anyone else have lymph nodes behind their collarbone that they can feel? I have read a couple of forums here mentioning that some people can feel collarbone lymph nodes, but I’m not sure if they feel the same as mine or are as large.

I always though lymphoma would progress quickly but with her symptoms starting a year earlier that scares me - when she started having her cough maybe she had little collar bone nodes like me and just didn’t notice until they really swelled up. I don’t know! I’m really freaking out

[Dimdim101]

They could even both just be lipomas and not even lymph nodes :/ the only way to really find out is cut it out but that’s the last thing I’d want to do. The left one feels like it’s attached to a ‘string’ which is why it can move in front of and behind the collarbone, while the right one feels like it’s kind of part of another nearby ‘string’ but since it’s bigger it moves less? Is this like a lipoma or what? Not sure since lymph nodes technically exist along chains too so could that be the ‘string’ I feel ?

[Dimdim101]

Anyone?

[Quinn1]

Not much to say sorry,other than I know you are overanalysing everything at the moment,one of my old police colleagues
had Hodgkins(stage 3) and got given the all clear yesterday.
What you need is a good Health Psychologist.

[Dimdim101]

I don't know how that's meant to be helpful... that makes me feel worse to hear about others being diagnosed unless you make clear they have completely different symptoms!

[Fishmanpa]

What you need is a good Health Psychologist.

I agree. There's no sense in offering reassurance as there's nothing to reassure about

Positive thoughts