Hi everyone,

Newbie here. I have had a swollen lymph node in my neck for a few months now (I didn't realise it was a lymph node at first so I didn't check for anymore, I assumed it was a spot or something!).

I went to the doctors a few weeks ago as suddenly I began to feel an intense pain in my neck, lots of hard lumps near my throat and developed a hoarse voice. It's a very odd pain, almost a tight swollen feeling that starts in my neck and radiates up my jaw and into my ears. The GP had a feel and identified several lymph nodes in my throat and one on my elbow, but she also found a hard lump on my thyroid. She sent me for bloods first to rule out hypothyroidism, which came back clear. She seemed more concerned after this and has referred me to head and neck at the hopsital under the 2ww pathway for suspected thyroid cancer, although she said this may be rejected due to my age (I'm only 24). 

I'm of course hoping that it won't be cancer, although what is more difficult for me right now is the pain I feel in my neck. It's very strange, my voice is hoarse but my throat itself doesn't feel sore - it feels like the outer swelling is pushing on my windpipe but it is so painful, especially when it radiates up to my jaw. I always feel the swelling but the pain seems to come in waves. Other than that it's like having a huge lump in my throat, and it's painful to swallow too. 

Has anyone had any experience of this pain before (cancer or not!) and if so, have any recommendations on how to cope in the meantime? I'm struggling to focus at work and it's driving me to tears at the worst points. I have tried a heat pad but it doesn't seem to work :(

Thank you in advance :)