Hey guys. I've had this lump in my neck that I discovered right around Oct-Nov of last year (2005). I figured it might have been due to a cold or something that I had right around that time but kept an eye on it. The thing that really got me noticing it was I was shaving and noticed that my neck on the right side is a bit concave in a small area of the neck, almost as though it is sunken in ever so slightly. I couldn't believe that in all my 28 years that I hadn't noticed it before. I figured that it was the area above that which was swollen, but after feeling around a bit lower with my fingers for a bit under the concave area, I hit the lump. BOOM! That shouldn't be there...
Well, after it hadn't gone away in a couple months, I decided to make an appointment with my GP (this was in January). He checked it out, said it's most likely a swollen lymph node that could have been caused by the cold that I had at the time and he said he's seen 1000s of these and they usually take a bit of time to go down. He gave me the standard "take 2 of these and call me in the morning answers" (more like wait a couple months and if it doesn't go down by then, schedule a follow-up with me). I ended up waiting until the end of February and it was still there.
So off to the doctor's I go again. This time, he pokes around and says basically the same thing - nothing to worry about. I ask him if it's a cyst, because I've had a history of getting them on my chest and back since I was about 17, and he says it's definitely not a cyst, but certainly a mass that's most likely benign. Because it doesn't hurt at all, he said not to worry about it and to only call him if it starts to hurt. When asked about any sort of tests, he sort of got pissed that I was second (or third?) guessing his opinion saying that he can't really schedule a biopsy until it's about the size of a quarter. Pats me on the back and shows me to the door...
Fast forward to the present day, 8 months later. While the lump is movable (doesn't seem fixed under the skin, but it will "snap" back into place if I play with it), it seems like it's gotten a bit bigger. It's hard to tell because I poke at it a few times a day to see if it's still there, but it's about the size of the end of my pinky finger. I've also become real aware of the fact that I sometimes get hardcore night sweats when I'm sleeping due to the fact that it IS one of the outlying symptoms of lymphoma, but my girlfriend says not to worry about it because apparently I've been like a sweaty toaster oven at night ever since we've been together (going on 7 years now) and I kind of remember waking up during my teens with soaked sheets from sweating all night too. I'd say that I've also lost about 10lbs over the course of the last 8 months (used to be 205lbs, now 195) but I've seriously cut down on the amount of fast food that I used to eat and sometimes have to skip a meal (have a house and a baby now - limits $$$ for lunch at work!) so I'm pretty sure that's how I've managed to drop some pounds.
I guess that's about it. I was wondering if anybody here has an opinion on what the hell might be going on. My doc seems reluctant to order a biopsy and is steadfast in his opinion that it's just a run-of-the-mill neck lump that he sees day-in, day-out and he's reiterated that both times I've seen him about it. The thought of doing a blood test or something else probably didn't even cross his mind, he dismissed it so fast! So here I am to ask people here who have gone through the same thing! Kudos to those who made it through my marathon post and I look forward to any response that might come my way (be it good, "listen to your doctor, he's right" answers or doom and gloom "it's been eight months! what's taking the doc so long to look into it?!" answers...