Welcome to Cancer Chat, Worriedinoxfordshire although I'm sorry to hear about the troubles your husband are facing.

I think we all can understand why you are concerned, after experiencing cancer with you mother but try to focus on other things until you husband has his appointment in March.

Hopefully others who have been in a similar situation will be here shortly to chat with you and give advice but until then if you find it impossible to keep dark thougths from your mind, feel free to reach out to our cancer nurses and ask any question you might have. They're available on this phone number 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Best wishes to all of you,

Renata, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi there,

Sorry you're going through this stress just now.  Your worry sounds perfectly normal given what you're going through with your mother.  All I can say is that your husband's neck lump was checked out, so unless it has changed I wouldn't worry about it.

Our neck is one of the most common places to get swollen lymph nodes and they don't always go back down.  Folk on here will be sick of hearing about it but I have 8 in my neck at one point and still have two of them decades on.  So if it was my husband I wouldn't be worrying, in the absence of any other symptoms, but that's always easier said than done.

If it puts your mind at rest at all March is only weeks away now, it will be here before you know it.

Best wishes to you and your mum.

LJx

Thank you so much for your kind words.  My husband has had a second scan and they are now saying it is a lipoma.  There is a risk it may grow, but in the meantime, he can live with it as it is.  The good news is that it is not cancer.

That's fantastic news, glad to hear it.

Hope you have a little mini-celebration.

LJx

Hi Farah,

Glad I logged in (I haven't been in for a long time due to full-time work and running a local cancer project).

The lymph node behind my ear is hard and fixed and has been that was as long as I can remember. The one on the left of my neck feels like it moves if I move my finger around it, but I think that's cause it's attached to something that moves. It is also hard. The two on the right of my neck are "grissly" apparently (I struggle to feel a difference) and both move a little.

These have all now been scanned across years and there has been no change in them.

Essentially if there is no change then you don't need to worry.

I realise it's hard to not be anxious but you could be stuck with various 'raised' lymph nodes for some time now. Sadly anxiety just drains you, yet it adds nothing beneficial to your life.

It takes time but if you continually push the thoughts out of your head when they occur they do start to occur less and less and then one day you realise you haven't thought about them in ages. Have a list of things you like thinking about (memories, songs etc.) and every time you start to think about the lymph nodes choose instead to consciously think about one of these other happy things.

Just be aware it does take time but it's a skill that, once you have it, it's much easier to use when you have anxiety over other things in the future.

Best wishes, sorry if I haven't been of much help.

LJx

Hi,

Could someone please answer my questions. 

I have the same essentially - a lump that moves a little on the right side of my neck. The nurse was baffled when she saw me, said it could not be a cyst as it wasn't looking or acting like that. However I am experiencing pain - which is why she thought it might have been a cyst. I haven't had any infections or been ill.

This lump is stopping me from sleeping properly, my shoulders are hurting and my right arm. I just feel sore all over, almost like stiff muscles. It's not the lump itself that's painful, it's just tender to the touch and all surrounding areas are painful and sore. 

Hi Suman2627

How are you? Have you made any progress with this? I'm experiencing a similar thing. It's been 8 weeks this week which was when doctor told me to return and he would order a scan of it was still there. Had managed to control anxiety over it but now prospect of a scan is making me worry again.

Hope you're well.