Possible lymphoma found on CT scan

Hi all.

I'm a 25 year old female. In June 2008 I found a lump on the back of my neck. I also sometimes have a low grade fever (rarely more than 99.5) and have lost 30 pounds since July- but the losing weight was definitely intentional. I worked very hard for that.

I've been given antibiotics that didn't shrink the lump, and was told to wait and see. Around Sept it hadn't gone down so they ran a CBC and sed rate, all normal. I  tried to stop worrying, as instructed by my GP.

I went back to GP in November for dizziness. Bloodwork then only found a very slightly elevated RBC and elevated crit, (I hadn't water yet that morning), and about 20 points too low on b12 (I'm vegetarian but not vegan).

A  b12 shot and taking pills at home has only slightly helped with the dizziness. Also when I mentioned the lump was STILL there, she referred me to a specialist. The ENT was not concerned, but did a CT. I just picked up the CT film and report, and looked at the report:

Multiple enlarged lymph nodes on back of neck, no inflamattion, nothing in the lungs, no lymphadenopathy.

Can you have cancer without having inflammation? Does this just sound like I had an infection a long time ago and my lymph nodes never went down?My appt with the ENT is Monday morning.

For what it's worth, I'm quite a bit overweight and the dizziness is probably due to fluctuating blood pressure, but neither the ENT nor the GP were sure.

On 12/13/2008 KatieNicole wrote:

Hi all.

I'm a 25 year old female. In June 2008 I found a lump on the back of my neck. I also sometimes have a low grade fever (rarely more than 99.5) and have lost 30 pounds since July- but the losing weight was definitely intentional. I worked very hard for that.

I've been given antibiotics that didn't shrink the lump, and was told to wait and see. Around Sept it hadn't gone down so they ran a CBC and sed rate, all normal. I  tried to stop worrying, as instructed by my GP.

I went back to GP in November for dizziness. Bloodwork then only found a very slightly elevated RBC and elevated crit, (I hadn't water yet that morning), and about 20 points too low on b12 (I'm vegetarian but not vegan).

A  b12 shot and taking pills at home has only slightly helped with the dizziness. Also when I mentioned the lump was STILL there, she referred me to a specialist. The ENT was not concerned, but did a CT. I just picked up the CT film and report, and looked at the report:

Multiple enlarged lymph nodes on back of neck, no inflamattion, nothing in the lungs, no lymphadenopathy.

Can you have cancer without having inflammation? Does this just sound like I had an infection a long time ago and my lymph nodes never went down?My appt with the ENT is Monday morning.

For what it's worth, I'm quite a bit overweight and the dizziness is probably due to fluctuating blood pressure, but neither the ENT nor the GP were sure.

Hey!

I don't want to freak you out, but you can have lymphoma with very little other symptoms.  If you feel this needs attention, find a doc that will investigate further.  You are the customer, they are the service provider - you have a right to ask questions and demand more.  I would imagine they could do something as simple as a needle biopsy to take cells out of the lump to see what type of cells are in there.

I say this because I just finished treatment for non-hodgekins lymphoma.  I had a lump on my throat - on the thyroid.  That was my only symptom.  My general doc just wanted to do xrays and then a scan.  I felt that I needed more so I went to a specialist on my own who felt the scan that was ordered was not even the right test to give appropriate results.  A simple need biopsy found the cancer cells and I was able to start treatment quickly.

So, trust yourself, find a doc who will help you find answers.  And congrats on the weight loss!  That's a great accomplishment!  Don't forget to update the board when you find out what's going on.

Carlenne