Hello Clef66, 

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss - losing your daughter 10 years ago must have been a truly traumatic experience. It's normal after experiencing something so tragic that you are terrified now and you did the right thing to book an appointment to see your GP and I hope everything goes well on Tuesday and the doctor can shed some light on what is causing this swollen lymph node. The temptation to poke and prod it can be strong but try to resist it if you can as it will only irritate it and increase your anxiety as will looking things up online to try and make sense of it all; unfortunately it never gives satisfactory answers and will only make you fear the worst - but least likely - scenario. 

Rest assured that there can be so many benign causes to swollen lymph nodes and your GP will be able to explain everything to you on Tuesday and tell you whether you need some additional tests. Do mention to your doctor that the hot flushes have returned over the last 5 days as they might have helpful suggestions to help you manage these and will be able to tell you more about what might be causing them. 

I hope that you will hear from other members of our community who have had similar issues before and that they will be along shortly to share their experience with you. We're thinking of you during this stressful time and we hope that you will get the reassurance you need soon. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator 

Hi Clef,

A very warm welcome to our forum. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter to AML. That must have been devastating and will naturally influence how you feel with your own symptoms. I lost my mum to secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her brain, bones, liver and lungs, before I discovered a breast lump. As a result, I was absolutely terrified when I was diagnosed. There was an interval of 12 years between our treatments. In that time, diagnosis, treatment and after care have come a long way and there was just no comparison between the experience which we both had. I had a second diagnosis, a year after the first, that was 13 years ago now and I still lead a busy and fulfilling life.

As our moderator, Lucie, has said, try to resist poking and prodding. It is hard to resist the temptation, but this will only make matters appear worse than they are. It is never a good idea to look things up, until you know what your problem is, as it can only result in scaring you further. You will feel better once you know the outcome, as our imaginations are our own worst enemies and take us to all sorts of dark places. There are many simple explanations for swollen lymph nodes, so I sincerely hope that your GP can put your mind to rest, when you see him/her on Tuesday.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx