Hi there - you're clearly in something of a muddle! I don't mean at all to make light of how you're feeling but I do think you need to take a very deep breath & try to turn your anxiety on its head. The nurse you saw said s/he was 99% sure things were ok so why are you choosing to think this is wrong? I had a cancer scare not too long ago & I was frightened. However, my GP said that 9 out of 10 people referred for the tests that I was sent for, turn out to be clear as mine were. I took comfort from what she said knowing her knowledge was far better than mine. Your GP may send you for some tests but that doesn't mean you have anything serious at all. Most doctors are simply being cautious & looking after you as yours will. Even after you've had the tests & something is not quite right it doesn't necessarily mean it's cancer but is likely something that can easily be treated.

I'm not saying this just to make you feel better (tho' I hope it does), but because it's the reaility of the situation. Also, given that you're only 20 the chances of it being something serious are very remote. These are the things you need to focus on not the very negative & damaging thoughts you are currently focusing on.

As I say I'm not making light of your anxiety because I know it's real & debilitating but if you continue along this path you'll make yourself unwell & be mad at yourself later when you find things are ok & you reailse you've ruined a few weeks of your life worrying for no good reason.

Trust what your GP tells you & trust all will be well. Take care of yourself :) x

Hi,

Given the elapsed amount of time before seeking treatment – the nurse is almost certainly correct, one would expect a Lymphoma grow rapidly to the size of a golf ball  and beyond (no, really). I would be very surprised if they even gave you a biopsy. It’s also worth noting that lymph nodes are measured in the short axis diameter when the evaluating them for cancer.

I am 24 and I have suffered with health anxiety since I was a teenager. In the past I have been guilty of adopting the same attitude that you describe with regards to avoiding seeing the doctor out of fear for bad news.

This is not a good strategy for several reasons

Firstly, it’s unsustainable – as you grow up and have a family of your own, taking care of your health becomes a priority for them, not just for you. You won’t be able to adopt this attitude later in life.

Secondly, it’s very easy to make misconceptions about medical matters, for example – lymphoma is one of the most treatable cancers, particularly in young people. I was recently referred to a surgeon with regards to lumps in my mouth, I read dozens of in depth papers on oral malignancy and was examining my lymph nodes to the degree that I was using geometry to try to predict their size. When I finally saw the surgeon he said there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, that he specialised exclusively in the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancers and he didn’t really know why I had been referred. I was convinced I was going to be diagnosed with an advanced stage cancer and that this appointment was just a formality in reaching that conclusion. 

The Cancer Research statistics for 2014-2016 give a female in your age bracket an average chance of approximately 1 in 15000 of developing a Lymphoma in any given year.

I hope this both puts your mind and ease and encourages you to seek a medical opinion earlier in the future.

Hey lovely,

honestly felt like I wrote this myself word for word! My anxiety has been super bad and hard to handle. I get too afraid to get it checked. 
 

Hope everything went well for you xxx

Hi!

I meant to come back and update this forum after my lymph node had been investigated to give other people in the same situation some clarity since people tend to only update after bad news but I completely forgot (sorry!).

It was incredibly scary getting it checked out. I'd convinced myself it was going to be bad news and they say ignorance is bliss but I basically got frog-marched to the doctors by my parents because I was making myself sick with worry and not eating or sleeping.

As it turns out, the doctors didn't even want to bother with an ultrasound because they weren't concerned with how it felt at all! He had a prod and a poke and basically said that yes it felt slightly enlarged but it wasn't as big as you would expect a malignant lymph node to be and that it was more likely just a lymph node that came up after a bout of illness and just never went away again.

I guess he must've been right because 9 months after I got it checked out it's still there! I've had no additional swellings and no worrying symptoms. Sometimes if I'm feeling under the weather it feels a little bit more enlarged but it always goes back down to 1-1.5cm. 

So I spent a year and a half worrying over absolutely nothing. I completely get where you're coming from in regards to the anxiety. I still get pretty awful health anxiety and still avoid going to the docs a lot but I'm working on it through therapy and I'd 100% recommend it if your anxiety is getting in the way of you getting things checked out.

Hope you're doing okay and please don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions or concerns xxx

Hello. Pleased that you came back to update, hopefully many who write on here regarding lymph nodes might take note instead of trying to diagnose each other. 

Best wishes

Lynne

Hi I am having the same issue at the moment.

I am awaiting my blood test results.

I am an anxiety sufferer anyway and have been told that this can cause my glands to swell.

I am staying as positive as possible and trying to curve my anxiety with breathing technics and positive thinking. X

I can't believe that other people have experienced what I've been having for the last 3 years. It's ruining my life. I have not yet booked a Dr's appointment but made my first step by opening up to a best friend. We have a plan in place that after Christmas I willsc peak to a doctor. 

I have found this thread really useful (your post and the replies). I have suffered from health anxiety most of my life, excluding the anxiety I am intelligent and rational and then totally illogical when it comes to health. I torture myself for years, I've had a swollen lymph node for 1.5 years, did got to doctor once and they did bloods and said OK, I've been too scared to go back since as I'm have convinced myself its bad and don't want bad new which is totally irrational and I know that. Its difficult because people don't understand (because it makes no sense) so its only really understood by people who experienced that type of anxiety. These few little posts have helped me, I am finally going to get help with my health anxiety which and get this checked over so I can either move on or handle it. 

Hello! 
Just thought I'd come back to this post and check in with some of the people who have replied since I posted an update. How did your blood test go? 

If it makes you feel any better, my englarged lymph node is still there even now. Still no growth or additional symptoms. Definitely get it checked out because it's such a relief when you're told that you're okay - and if you've had the same situation as me I'm almost certain you are okay!! You'll be so proud of yourself for going and will finally be able to move on with your life.