Found a lump...

[RunningwithScissors]

So I found a lump, a fairly large one, in my neck about two months ago. It took me 6 weeks to get it looked at by my GP. I kept hoping it was an enlarged lymph node due to it being massive allergy season here and drainage and all that and that it would go down. Well it didn't, so I went in last week. GP was concerned after feeling it and this coming Tuesday I go in for imaging. GP said he has no idea what it is. Could be an enlarged lymph node, could be an enlarged salivary gland, could be a tumor of some sort. Lovely. So I'm trying not to think about it until the imaging. Also, and this is weird, my white blood cell count is too low. Geez. Okay, I'm kinda scared. But I feel totally fine. Overwhelmed with work, and somewhat stressed from arguing with my spouse recently over mundane stuff, but fine other than that. I very rarely get sick so I'm not good at this kinda thing.

Anyone gone through something like this?

A question for those of you who know more about human anatomy than I do: how can a doctor not tell if a lump is a lymph node, a salivary gland or something else? Aren't these items in different spots?

 

[FornasettiLover]

In the area up by the jaw and under the chin there are both salivary glands and lymph nodes and it’s best not to guess. Is it off to a side or more toward the middle? Is the skin over it normal in appearance? Is it tender? Does the lump move or is it matted down? What size is it? Any chance you have a new kitten in your home? Imaging is the best place to start for sure. I’m sorry you’re scared. Knowledge is power and the not knowing is a dark place full of boogie monsters.

 

[LilAlex]

Oh I am so sorry! Saw this and in a rush but couldn't not respond.

It needn't be something bad but you will most likely need to confirm that with biopsy. If the imaging or physical exam suggests it is a node, it should probably be removed to get the best look under the microscope; otherwise, a biopsy may suffice.

Health care is a bit broken now so make sure your docs follow up.

I had an isolated (single) very enlarged cervical (neck) lymph node many years ago that my wife found. I had it removed and it was "fine." A bit of an odd duck but nothing that required treatment or further worry. I hope yours is similar! Good for you for jumping on it!

 

[maru8888777]

I just had this experience with a lump (not on my neck) that turned out to be completely benign after a few tests. The doctor wasn't sure about it either. I am glad you are getting it looked at quickly, and hope all turns out well!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

In the area up by the jaw and under the chin there are both salivary glands and lymph nodes and it’s best not to guess. Is it off to a side or more toward the middle? Is the skin over it normal in appearance? Is it tender? Does the lump move or is it matted down? What size is it? Any chance you have a new kitten in your home? Imaging is the best place to start for sure. I’m sorry you’re scared. Knowledge is power and the not knowing is a dark place full of boogie monsters.

Hi, thanks for your response.

I have a very long neck. The lump is about 1/4 of the way down my neck from my jawline, so while its closer to the jaw than my chest, its still about 2 inches lower than my jawline. Its off to my left side. Its not tender at all. I can't honestly tell if it moves or is matted down, its kind of half way in the middle of those two extremes. It feels hard, not soft. The lump feels deep below the surface, so the skin over it isn't any different. It feels oval in shape about 1inch long, 1/2" wide, the long side is top to bottom, the shorter side is left to right. I'm very thin, so its easy to feel b/c I have don't have any fat tissue in my neck.

I don't own cats, though I do have three dogs and there is a ton of wildlife in my yard because I live in a heavily forested area, and I garden so I may have come in contact with scat of various kinds, and its been feeling like summer here for several weeks, so all the critters are out.

 

[Mlh]

Thinking of you @RunningwithScissors !! Following this thread and hoping it is nothing serious!!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

Oh I am so sorry! Saw this and in a rush but couldn't not respond.

It needn't be something bad but you will most likely need to confirm that with biopsy. If the imaging or physical exam suggests it is a node, it should probably be removed to get the best look under the microscope; otherwise, a biopsy may suffice.

Health care is a bit broken now so make sure your docs follow up.

I had an isolated (single) very enlarged cervical (neck) lymph node many years ago that my wife found. I had it removed and it was "fine." A bit of an odd duck but nothing that required treatment or further worry. I hope yours is similar! Good for you for jumping on it!

Thanks for your well wishes and telling me your story.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I just had this experience with a lump (not on my neck) that turned out to be completely benign after a few tests. The doctor wasn't sure about it either. I am glad you are getting it looked at quickly, and hope all turns out well!

Thanks! Glad yours was benign. Fingers crossed!

 

[Karl_K]

prayers outgoing
I know how scary it can be but a lot of times it turns out to not be super serious.
One time I had some gland swelling on my face and the doctor was concerned and ordered an ultrasound and biopsy.
All was ok and it went back to normal after 3 weeks or so and has never happened again.

 

[Eli22]

Glad you are getting it checked out. Hoping everything turns out ok.

 

[Ally T]

Firstly, big hugs to you, sweetheart. Anything like this is just plain terrifying. But try to keep in mind that for every sinister discovery, there are hundreds of non-sinister ones that are just random & the body’s way of dealing with infection or stress or a reaction to something that you may not even know you have a reaction too.

My niece had a swollen gland in her neck for about 10 weeks once. It was unusual, but it did resolve itself eventually.

My mantra is to stay positive unless told otherwise. Good luck for Tuesday & I shall be keeping you in my thoughts.

 

[diamondringlover]

I had a lump in my neck but closer to shoulders, mine was a swollen lymph node that they were concerned with so it got surgically removed, luckily it was nothing, but it freaked me out, then after that I found one on my jawline on the same side freaked out again and went to the doctor and I forget what they said it was but they also said it was nothing....hopefully yours is nothing!

 

[dk168]

Sending some dust your way, hope it is nothing serious.

DK

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thinking of you with good wishes and positive thoughts! I know it is scary but I am hoping it will be just fine!!

 

[missy]

Dear @RunningwithScissors sending you so many well wishes and gentle hugs. I know it is almost impossible not to worry but try not to worry because there is a very good chance it is nothing to worry about and the most important thing is getting an accurate diagnosis so whatever it is can be dealt with if necessary. Knowledge is truly power here. Sending you so many healing vibes and (((((hugs)))))) and hoping it is absolutely nothing to worry about

 

[yssie]

I am so, so sorry RWS. The powerlessness and fear that this discovery begets, and then the waiting - the waiting is the worst.

I’m really glad you’re going in for imaging. Not ignoring it. And I will keep every single limb crossed that you get a clear diagnosis quickly.

It’s impossible to not worry. I know. But I want to say, please try to stay away from google. It can be so tempting to try to fit all the half-truths and anecdotes out there into your own context - but the story that paints never has much upside and always has lots of downsides. You’re a brave and intelligent woman, I know that you’ll advocate for yourself with your healthcare providers.

So many hugs honey. I so hope it’s nothing. But if it isn’t, or if they need to do more testing to diagnose, or whatever happens next - you won’t go through it alone.

 

[springerspaniel]

I agree with what everyone else has said so eloquently. Uncertainty is so hard to manage. You are doing exactly what needs to be done and we are all supporting you while you get this figured out @RunningwithScissors.

 

[maryjane04]

Thinking of you @RunningwithScissors and sending you lots of positive vibes. Hoping it's nothing serious.

 

[Tonks]

Oh gosh, I am so sorry you are dealing with this. This sounds very frightening.

Is the lump off to the side or more centrally located? I have a big thyroid nodule that feels like a big lump in the neck—very much the size you are describing. It is off to one side because it’s on the left side of my thyroid. If it’s that, you’d be able to tell by looking straight on in a mirror, tilting your head back, and taking a swallow of water. That would exaggerate the thyroid and any nodules on it (which are usually benign). You can actually see it move when swallowing.

Salivary glands—if you google you can see a map of where those are. There are some below your jaw but not generally down as far as your neck.

Lymph nodes are all over. One possibility is swelling on a side where you recently got a booster shot, perhaps? Or if you have been fighting off a cold?

My hope is to encourage you that there are lots of non scary explanations that could fit, and also that you are doing the right thing by following up. I hope someone gets you some answers and soon.

Hugs.

 

[tyty333]

Will be thinking of you @RunningwithScissors . I usually take a "don't worry" attitude until you're told that there is something to
worry about. I know, easier said than done but I've seen so many times when my Mom or others have worried about things that
turned out to be nothing or something pretty minor.

Hang in there and keep us posted. Sending you strength in the days to come.

 

[danusia]

This happened to my DH about 30 years ago. Doctors were so stumped that he was hospitalized for 7 days (4 months after my DD was born) with antibiotic drip. MRI inconclusive. Doctors said if lump does not go down they would perform surgery. Well lump started to go down after 5 days. Fast forward this happened to him 2 more times. Second time I do not remember, but third time was in November 2019. On high dose antibiotics (Cleomycin) and lump went away. Doctors still had no idea what it was and assumed just infected lymph node.

 

[Rebel Rebel]

Hi, longtime lurker who joined to share my experience with you. This happened about 20 years ago, so some details are fuzzy.

For a few weeks, I started feeling small twinges in my jaw area. Then I took a bite of a sandwich and felt a sharp pain in my jaw and neck. A large lump, almost the size of a golf ball, literally burst out under my jaw line and extended about two inches into my neck.

I immediately went to my GP, who correctly predicted a stone in my salivary gland and referred me to an ENT. I think (fuzzy) that an x-ray confirmed the diagnosis. At the time, I had never heard of such a thing! The ENT compared it to a kidney stone.

The ENT suggested two weeks (fuzzy) of sucking on lemon drops to try to break it up, but that didn't work, so my salivary gland and the stone were removed. The ENT said it was a more difficult surgery than he expected (large stone!), but it was successful and recovery wasn't hard.

For maybe a year (fuzzy), I had dryness from having much less saliva, but I adjusted and very rarely notice it. Once in a while, I have a funny sensation in that area that reminds me of the surgery, but it's not bothersome. Other than that, it's been a good outcome.

Hope this helps and you have a good resolution.

 

[Begonia]

Thinking about you and praying for the best possible outcome. As others have pointed out, there are so many benign reasons this could be happening. Hoping you get to that reason quickly so your mind can be at rest!

Edited to add: a few years ago I found a lump in my neck too. It's a thyroid nodule. Biopsy was fine.

 

[FornasettiLover]

Hi, thanks for your response.

I have a very long neck. The lump is about 1/4 of the way down my neck from my jawline, so while its closer to the jaw than my chest, its still about 2 inches lower than my jawline. Its off to my left side. Its not tender at all. I can't honestly tell if it moves or is matted down, its kind of half way in the middle of those two extremes. It feels hard, not soft. The lump feels deep below the surface, so the skin over it isn't any different. It feels oval in shape about 1inch long, 1/2" wide, the long side is top to bottom, the shorter side is left to right. I'm very thin, so its easy to feel b/c I have don't have any fat tissue in my neck.

I don't own cats, though I do have three dogs and there is a ton of wildlife in my yard because I live in a heavily forested area, and I garden so I may have come in contact with scat of various kinds, and its been feeling like summer here for several weeks, so all the critters are out.

Well it’s impossible to know but that’s a a lot of reassuring features! So much of what we do in medicine is risk stratification based on pattern recognition.

The images will provide a lot of information and you may also end up with a biopsy, but you’re on the right road. Most important is take everything on google with a grain of salt and don’t cancel your follow up! Please keep us posted.

 

[lala646]

@RunningwithScissors Last year, during a routine exam, my doctor found a lump in my neck. Sent me for an ultrasound and I had nodules on my thyroid, and the biopsy on the largest came back as irregular. I had surgery in October to remove the nodule and left lobe, and they found it was an invasive cancer, so I just had the rest of my thyroid out on Tuesday. Not pleased about having to recover from this surgery again, but I'm happy it was found, and that I had a proactive team of doctors. So long story short, I'm glad you're not ignoring it just because it's not painful. Hopefully it will be nothing more than an overactive lymph node. I've had a few of those. But keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Star gazer]

So I found a lump, a fairly large one, in my neck about two months ago. It took me 6 weeks to get it looked at by my GP. I kept hoping it was an enlarged lymph node due to it being massive allergy season here and drainage and all that and that it would go down. Well it didn't, so I went in last week. GP was concerned after feeling it and this coming Tuesday I go in for imaging. GP said he has no idea what it is. Could be an enlarged lymph node, could be an enlarged salivary gland, could be a tumor of some sort. Lovely. So I'm trying not to think about it until the imaging. Also, and this is weird, my white blood cell count is too low. Geez. Okay, I'm kinda scared. But I feel totally fine. Overwhelmed with work, and somewhat stressed from arguing with my spouse recently over mundane stuff, but fine other than that. I very rarely get sick so I'm not good at this kinda thing.

Anyone gone through something like this?

A question for those of you who know more about human anatomy than I do: how can a doctor not tell if a lump is a lymph node, a salivary gland or something else? Aren't these items in different spots?

Sorry you are going through this, I know how scary it can be Very happy you got it checked out when you did!! Sending hugs

 

[kah42]

Thinking of you and sending both prayers and gentle hugs.

 

[icy_jade]

Hope that it isn’t anything serious and crossing my fingers for you @RunningwithScissors. Sending much PS dust and well wishes over.

 

[RMOO]

Another "terrifying at the time, but turned out to be nothing to be too concerned with" story:
My daughter was about 12 years old at the time, and the right side of her jaw, below her ear ballooned up as if she had the mumps on one side of her face only. Her GP referred me to a oncologist (anxiety rises) who recommended a biopsy (I almost passed out in the office.) They removed the lymph node - strike that - they removed two lymph nodes, because she has DOUBLE the normal number! When tested, they found that she had contracted a virus from our Guinee pig, who had bitten her trying to hold on as she put him over her shoulder, and the double set of lymph nodes had responded with twice the swelling.

Sending positive thoughts your way for an "easy" resolution.

 

[Avondale]

I know this must be hellishly stressful for you and "don't worry" is more easily said than done, so I'll try to help with a bit of applied logic.

Whatever is, is. Nothing you can do or think right now will change that. Stressing over it will just make the time that much more unpleasant. It is what it is, and the only thing that's left is for you to find out. What makes sense right now is to live your life as if nothing's happened and deal with the rest as and when it comes.

This string of reasoning usually helps me manage my worry and anxiety. Simply reminding myself that I'm not in control, nothing I could do would influence anything, so my time is better spent on more positive things. Statistically these things end up being nothing anyway. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!