Supraclavicular swelling

Hi all, I’m new here and am wondering if there is any further info about swelling above clavicles?

I am a 47 year old female, Autistic and have ADHD (both late diagnosis) and MS, diagnosed in 2017 but seemingly ‘mild’.

In January 2025, after a rare two weeks of feeling really well, I noticed puffy swelling above both clavicles. No pain and no lymph node swelling that I could detect. I googled to see if it was a weird MS symptom and google really only had info about swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes. (Infection or cancer, basically) Which I didn’t seem to have. Honestly, the swelling was so severe, it looked like I was wearing a yoke! 

I contacted NHS111 who said I should see my GP within 24 hours, due to the location of the swelling. I saw a GP the next morning. I was anxious both because of Google searches plus my anxiety around appointments. (Exacerbated hugely by numerous appointments at my surgery where I was spoken to like dirt) I am always polite and respectful but my practice seems to think they don’t need to be. The Dr told me that he couldn’t feel any lymph nodes and that the swelling wasn’t obvious! (I have gained weight in perimenopause but have a slim frame and skinny shoulders- I got the feeling he thought it was fat!) 

He reluctantly referred me for blood tests and a chest x-ray. (All fine) but he had told me to go back in two weeks if no change. So I did. This time I saw a female doctor, as requested because I wanted to get my breasts checked. I have previously had several cysts in my breasts that required draining. 
This Dr was horrible to me from the moment I walked in the door. She carried out the breast exam (so painful I was squealing, to her obvious disbelief) reluctantly. She could not detect any swollen lymph nodes either and I tried to explain that I had been hoping for an obvious explanation for the weird symptom, that wasn’t cancer. Again, hostility, derision, scorn. I felt like she hated me! 
She referred me for an ultrasound of my ‘neck’ and didn’t like it when I said “It’s not my neck” and I received a text message saying they would also scan my ‘abdomen’. 
I came away from that appointment traumatised and with a prescription for Diazepam.  She noted in my patient access, and I quote, “Has convinced herself she has cancer”.
The ultrasound was carried out by a dismissive nurse who suggested that “some ladies retain water in this area”. Really??? She scanned as far down as my belly button and results came back normal. (Famously, cancer never grows below the belly button) 

I have not been back to the surgery since. I have now a lump in my left breast that I am hoping is another cyst. It isn’t causing any pain, unlike the previous ones. I am getting a bit lopsided. 
I have a telephone appointment tomorrow with a different GP and this only happened because I had a call from the surgery pharmacist reviewing my Diazepam usage and I explained why I was using it and told her about my awful appointments. So, I guess I will hope for the best tomorrow!

If anyone made it to the end of this post, thank you! I’m sorry it’s so long; I needed to get it out of me. Has anyone got any clue what might be causing the swelling, if not to do with breast lump? Thank you and best wishes to everyone here.

  • Hi BadgerEnthusiast,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm sorry to hear that you were treated unkindly during your appointments - I'm sure this was really difficult.

    It's good though that you did have some further tests and hopefully some reassurance can be taken from those.

    It's also good to hear that another appointment with a different doctor was arranged. It sounds like you may have had this appointment by now and if so, I hope that it went OK and better than the others.

    If you continue to have symptoms you are concerned about, keep speaking to a doctor - and you can always ask for a second opinion from a different doctor if you would like to.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi, since I originally posted, I have spoken to a different doctor over the phone who was apologetic about my previous experiences. He recommended that I come in for another breast exam and consultation with another female doctor. He looked at the photograph from January that I had uploaded to my records and his opinion was that it was ‘normal’. 

    I said that I thought the opinion of the previous dr was that it was fat, however I have always been underweight for my height and that the rest of the area (shoulders and below clavicles)  carries no excess fat, which is why it looks so odd! My partner, friends and friends who have seen the swelling have all had the same shocked reaction. My appointment is 8th July and I have absolutely no faith that I will get any further with an explanation from that point.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my post. It helps just to feel heard!