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Large, swollen, painless lymph nodes in neck?
Q:Hello all. I have large, painless, swollen lymph nodes in my neck (and no infections) and am concerned that my physician is not taking them seriously.The node on the right side of my neck has been growing for 2-3 years, is firm, and feels to be almost 3cm. It doesn’t move much and feels tethered to something below it. In the past 6-8 months the node on the right side of my neck has grown, is very hard (harder than the other one) and feels to be 1.5-2cm.I am worried that this is some sort of lymphoma but my doctor keeps doing bloodwork and says that as long as my white blood cell and red blood cell counts are ok then everything is fine. However, I did cancer research for a few years and know that cancerous nodes can grow quite large before the blood counts are affected – which is why I am worried.I was wondering what your opinions are on whether this is natural or something I should have looked at more closely. Thank you in advance for your help!
More Answers to “Large, swollen, painless lymph nodes in neck?“
Hi there. My sister was just diagnosed with Epstein-Barr syndrome and swollen lymph nodes are one of the symptoms. She’s had hers for over a year now and they are continuing to grow.I included a link to the encyclopedia for Epstein-Barr.You might consider asking your doctor to check into that as a possible diagnosis. I think that you should get a second or even a third opinion. It doesn’t sound normal to have something like that. You don’t want to take the chance of waiting until it is too late. I would make some calls to a specialist that specializes in this area and get their expertise. I will keep you in my prayers.
Get your doctor to order a CT scan for you. This will ease all fears. Then have a biopsy of the lump.
Your gut instinct is usually a good one to follow. You should insist on having a biopsy. It will give you peace of mind. I didn’t have swollen nodes, and my blood work came out fine. Much like yours. Yet, a biopsy was done, and one node was found to be positive for cancer. I had NO signs. Only my instinct. The surgeon even told my family that he thought everything looked ok in there. Dr.s do there best. My Pathology report showed cancer in a node. More had to be removed. My advice.its better to be safe than sorry. Have a biopsy/fna done. You never know what is going on inside your body. Cancer is very dangerous thing to let go. I hope all goes well.and you find your answer.
GO to another doctor[ENT] Don’t take any chances.
A relatively asymptomatic infection, like Epstein-Barr virus can cause a similar condition, as the lady suggested. Other viruses can do similar things, like HIV.It is, though, unusual for a subclinical infection to cause “tethering” of the lymph nodes to surrounding structures. I would ask your doctor to refer you to an ENT surgeon who can do the appropriate workup, including an excisional biopsy of a node for diagnostic purposes.
I would find a new doctor that is willing to do an FNA biopsy.Your life is the most important thing. You need a doctor that will take you seriously. My brother was mis-diagnosed for 6 years before they found his stage 3 melanoma. All of his blood tests were normal. The only way they found it was by a biopsy of his nodes under his neck. Please, find a new doctor.or do not take no for an answer. Doctors work for you!
You should go to a doctor.Hopefully it isn’t cancer, but it could be something else that could affect your health.Please get it looked at..I also have a lymph node in my neck, that isn’t very large and it doesn’t move. It hasn’t grown tho.GB
You need a Fine Needle Aspiration of that Lymph node. Please push until you get the answers you need. Could be nothing. Could be a slow-growing Lymphoma. I had an aggressive Lymphoma, so that Lymph node swelled up in a short period of time. It still took a while to get diagnosed. Please change doctors if you have to, but get your answers. Here’s a good site to check and see if you have any other symptoms:http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls.Best wishes!
My sister has this or rather had these same symtoms. She has sarcoidosis. She also has nodes in her lungs/ Have them take a chest x-ray.Good luck