Swollen Neck Nodes

lisajones4 · 01-15-2009, 08:52 AM

Hi everyone. I hope you are all staying warm. I don't post much, but I do come to the site and visit everyday.

I have a quick question about about neck nodes. I found a swollen lymph node in my neck. I was very sick with the flu last week (lasted about 5 days!). I went to see my oncologist yesterday and she agreed that there is a swollen lymph node. She checked my throat and said it was still very red especially on the side of where the swollen lymph node is. She gave me an anti-biotic and will re-check me next week. My white cells were completely normal.

I am so incredibly scared. Are there any additional questions that I should be asking my doctor?

Thank you for letting me vent. I am so scared.

Lisa

MJo · 01-15-2009, 08:58 AM

I wish the fear of recurrence would go away and we could be as confident as we were before BC, but after three years, I still get scared when I get a swollen lymph node or when my regular blood test shows something is off. So you're perfectly normal, except for your flu, which is likely causing your swollen lymph node. Get completely well soon. Next week, chances are very high that all will be well.

Lien · 01-15-2009, 09:33 AM

Hi Lisa,

Ofcourse you are scared! Who of us wouldn't be. But it's more than likely that the swollen lymphnode can be attributed to the infection. Any scary symptom that doesn't go away within two weeks should be checked by your doc. So give it another week and give the antibiotics a chance to do their work. The lymph node will probably be back to normal by then.

Hang in there!

Hugs

Jacqueline

jml · 01-15-2009, 07:49 PM

Don't know if this is going to bring you any peace of mind, but I've had a couple of supraclav recurrences & the nodes feel very hard & dense (vs.swollen, puffy nodes due to strep/a cold/etc).
Trust that your Onc would have been able to confidently differentiate a positive node from a swollen one, even with simple palpation.
As MJo said, once you're completely well, you'll likely find all will be well & that swollen lymph node will calm down & return to normal.
Keep the Faith~

lisajones4 · 01-16-2009, 05:44 AM

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this site. thank you, thank you, thank you!

Lisa

Joan M · 01-18-2009, 04:56 PM

Lisa,

I had a swollen lymph node in my neck last year which went away. My GP said that soemtimes they can take as long as a month to go completely away.

Joan

Rendi69CA · 01-18-2009, 08:11 PM

I have swollen lymph nodes on my neck. The cause was taxol stop working and now I'm on navabine. Just had 2 infusion and they are getting smaller. It can be very scary at time. Take care.