20, smoker, lump on neck that's been there longer than 3 yea

Hi, I'm a 20 yr old woman who's got a lump on her neck that comes and goes. It's just over 1 cm and is hard and painless. It never fully disappears but it bulges out sometimes then gets a little smaller. I can't move it around. Usually I never worry about it but a second one has started to grow. Last time I went to gp, he said it was just a cyst and would go away. I've been getting shoulder pains and just feel a little weaker. The lump is on the back of my neck by the hairline. Is it worth going back to the gp or should I just let it be?

  • Since it's been there for so long it is probably harmless, but I think you should get a definitive answer.

    Return to your GP and ask whether an ultrasound scan would be appropriate.

    Let us know how you get on.  Your feedback helps us improve our answers in the future.

    The fact you mention you're a smoker probably indicates that you know that smoking is the no 1 cause of cancer.  At age 20 you won't have done much harm to yourself yet, and if you were to give up now then by the time you reach the age where your cancer risk is significantly higher, all the possible bad effects of smoking now would have disappeared.  Please give it some thought.