Petrified that I have lymphoma!!

Hi I'm an 18 year old female

around 2 years ago I had bad tonsillitis & since then I've always had this swollen lymph node under my jaw on my right side, only recently I've been stressing over it & also found a lymph node that's movable in my armpit, I have a few lymph nodes above my collarbone that are tiny & I can move. My anxiety is so bad I am becoming VERY ill. I feel pain in my upper arm, chest pain, I am really really worrying to the point I feel sick & can't eat

if anyone experiencing the same please let me know x

i feel hopeless

  • Hi kaycxxxxx.  Welcome to the forum.

    I should start out by saying that I'm not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications.

    As you probably know, lymph nodes are a vital part of our immune system.  They swell and sometimes become tender when fighting off an infection.  Once swollen, a lymph node may sometimes settle after a few days, or a few weeks, but now and again a lymph node may remain permanently (and harmlessly) swollen.  I think this is probably the case with your node that's been swollen for two years. If it was going to cause a problem you'd know about it by now. 

    Lymph nodes are continually on the alert, so it's not too surprising to find a few which are swollen and tender. This is because they're doing their job.  I think most doctors say they want to know about a node which remains swollen for more than 6 weeks.  Even then, in the vast majority of cases the cause will NOT be cancer. 

    Although swollen lymph nodes are a symptom of lymphoma, lymphoma is often accompanied with other symptoms which you haven't mentioned.  The most obvious such symptom is drenching night sweats - so bad you need to change the sheets each time.  Other symptoms including severe iching, unexplained weight loss, pain/swelling in the belly, and fever.  These are the ones to look out for.  There are also more vague symptoms such as fatigue and appetite loss which I suspect most of us are suffering from during this time of lockdown.

    I suggest you keep an eye on the new swollen nodes and only start to worry if one or more remain swollen for six week, or you get some of the other symptoms I've mentioned.  Even then, the chance that it will turn out to be cancer will be low.