Should I push for more testing (lymphoma)

 

Feeling general malaise and severe fatigue for approx 1.5 years to the point where it’s severely debilitating and effecting work etc.

Found a lump under my chin approx 9-10 months ago. GP didn’t seem concerned and said leave it alone. Was still there 3 months later and I wasn’t happy but my doctor still didn’t want to send me for any scans but I pushed him and he sent me for an ultrasound. Ultrasound results came back and my doctor said it’s “fine” nothing to worry about. No other explanation other than that...

For the past 3 I’ve been having bouts of extreme scalp itchiness to the point where it wakes me up in the morning and I can’t get back to sleep, the itching is relentless and unbearable but generally last about half the day for a couple day’s in a row, then I won’t have it again for a couple days.  Also general itchiness all Over my body but not bad enough to scratch it untill it’s red raw like my scalp but nothing anywhere near as bad as on the scalp. Looked at my scalp and there was no dry skin,no rash,no marks or anything and I’ve never suffered with itchiness before.. the nurse at my gp gave me some shampoo or something to use but I haven’t used it because my general health and scalp look perfectly fine?

I’ve had no weight loss, but I have woke up on 2-3 occasions in the past 3-4 months with the bed sheets completely soaked which I thought was odd but just put it down to being too hot at night untill I realised these could be “night sweats”?? I forgot to mention this to my GP as it has only been on a couple of occasions.

Phones the GP twice in the past month and they ordered blood tests which came back slight Vitamin D deficiency.

The GPs are now saying it’s all anxiety related as my blood tests were basically fine, the ultrasound was “fine”, and the shampoo they prescribed should take care of the itch (they haven’t even looked at my scalp as it’s all phone call appointments right now due to covid). The GP kept pushing me asking what I think it was, and I mentioned cancer to which she dismissed my concerns and said all my problems would be fixed with vitamin D and shampoo for the itch and put the rest down to health anxiety.

Over the past year I’ve had approx 5-6 blood tests due to complaints of fatigue which all came back perfectly normal so find it hard to believe it’s now all of a sudden vitamin D deficiency when my vitamin D levels never flagged before and I still had symptoms. 

Should I push for more testing or a referral?
I don’t want to just ring up and demand a CT scan or to see a haematologist as they will put it down to health anxiety again...

Should I be happy with a normal blood test and ultrasound??

I’ve been suffering with the fatigue symptoms for far too long, but  nothing that indicated lymphoma until the itching and lump appeared. 

This is all in the UK under the NHS.

Thanks for the help

  • Hi Irezumiguy and welcome to the forum.

    Normal blood test and ultrasound results are always a good thing but I can understand why you're still concerned given that you're still contending with symptoms.

    In the first instance, you could try making the changes to improve your vitamin D and using the shampoo they've recommended for your scalp to see if things improve but if they don't then you could get back in touch with your doctor to let them know and find out what happens next.

    I'm not sure if you have more than one doctor at your surgery but if you do, you could try seeking a second opinion from a different doctor. You can find out more just here.

    Hopefully you'll receive some advice from our members who have been in a similar position soon.

    All the best,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator