I think I may have Lymphoma.

[Asone20]

I'm 20 years old and for the past 3 weeks i've had numerous lymph nodes pop up in my groin, under arms, and kneck.

I have atleast 11 swollen nodes in my groin, I can barely move them, there is no pain when I move them at all, no tenderness or anything, most are around my penis and on my upper thighs, most are pea to medium pea sized and it feels like 3 are getting slightly larger and harder, 2 are atleast almost an inch in diameter.

I have 2 under my right arm that are painless (pea sized).

I have 7 in my neck, all are painless and some can be moved around more freely then others, but one just popped up on the back of my neck that is kinda big, probably slightly over half an inch, it's very hard to move around and barely does, and it is also painless, the one that just popped up I believe is associated with this massive headache i have right now, and my neck is kinda stiff.

Well now i'm freaking out, because I find a new one everyday, and they are every where. I have no insurance, and I really don't know what to do, or who to see.

But does this sound like it could be lymphoma, what is the percentage chance that it could be.

Please someone respond, I've been crying all night since this last one popped up and it is kinda large.

Recent medical history:
I went to the doctor about 5 years ago to have a lymph node removed from the right side of my neck, it was slightly smaller than the size of a golf ball, but it came back benign.

I went to the ER a few weeks ago because of these lymph nodes and pain in my lower right abdomen, at that time I only had 10 in all (Now I have 19), all of them were painless at the time and still are. The doctor felt 2 of my lymph nodes but didn't exam any of the rest, and walked off and said nothing to worry about? I have experience with lymph nodes and I know if there is that many swollen and not painless than there is a problem. They were only worried about checking me for appendicitis and came to the conclusion i didn't have appendicitis so they sent me home without further examination of my lymph nodes.

[Fox0r]

Asone20,

Rule number one, as ChemoMan would say: Do not panic. It could be nothing.

I was around 21 when I got sick one time. Lymph nodes all over my body swelled up and I was horribly sore all over my body. Do you have any general soreness? Malaise I believe is what it is called? You could have Mononucleosis. That is what I ended up having when I was 21. I didn't get it from kissing anyone either - I'm almost positive I got it from accidentally drinking out of the wrong glass at work one time.

Bottom-line is that the majority of the time it ISN'T lymphoma. I know it is hard - believe me. I am waiting on my biopsy results. At first, I was CONVINCED I had lymphoma. Now I'm trying to stay positive. The lymph node they removed was the size of a walnut. I am 24 years old and have two children (20 months and 4.5 months). It is scary, I know. But regardless, we need to remember that we don't have control over whether it is or it isn't.

I would suggest scrounging up the money to go to the doctor (without insurance in my area of the US it would be about $75-100 for a visit). Bring up your concerns with them and have them check you for Mono if they think it is warranted. Just try to stay calm.

Do you have any symptoms? Night sweats, weight loss, fatigue, itchiness?

Since I haven't actually had lymphoma (that I am aware of - waiting on results), I will leave the experts here with experience to speak with you. Just stay calm and know that the odds are more on your side than anything. It might not be anything.

I will keep you in my thoughts and say a prayer for you.

Sincerely,

Aaron

[aisha1]

Hi,

Just reading your post and wondered, like Aaron if you had any night sweats, fatigue, itching etc? If you have all of these nodes coming up, and the places you describe, they are on both sides of the diaphram - then you should have some B symptoms (then again everyone is different), but just relax a bit.

Your past history also means that you are prone to swollen nodes. If I were you I would stay calm. Don't get distressed until you make yourself cry. I understand that you are worried, but stress is just making whatever it is that is wrong with you, more sick.

Take a deep breath, sit down, get a hold of your emotions until you are seeing things clearly. I think part of your distress is not having insurance and not knowing what to do from here because of your situation. Just take things one step at a time.

Let us know what is going on as things progress. There are lots of VERY experienced people here and regulars that will follow your story. I am not in the US and think that it would be better for someone in the US to follow you and give you a hand.

Hoping you can calm down first, and then you start to see the emerging conclusions, and I hope you don't have lymphoma. Majority of cases don't.

Aisha

[joepet]

Hi Asone,

Sorry that you are suffering. And I'm also sorry that we cannot give specific answers to your question like percentages, except from the anecdotal evidence that ChemoMan compiled about a month ago that only about 1 or 2% of the people who come to this board only thinking that they might have lymphoma actually come back here and let us know that they do. If cancer were so simple that we could determine that information from a single internet post, then I'm sure we would have developed the cure for all of them a long time ago.

But know that, overall, the chances that your condition is caused by cancer is very small. Of course, without knowing more, I can't say it is zero. But if your biggest problem now is painless nodes, then there is no reason for you to freak out. Lymphoma is highly treatable these days, and is no longer the death sentence that it used to be. And while finding financial resources for health care in America is indeed a chore, it is something that you will be able to do if the need is there.

In the meantime, and try to see your general physician sometime soon to get an exam. Hopefully you are one of the vast majority that finds a benign cause to their symptoms.

Good luck!

[Asone20]

Yes i've had weight loss and night sweats.

I can't believe I forgot to mention the weight loss, 2 weeks ago I went from 127 to 120, yesterday I weighed myself and now I weigh 111, so that means in a 2 to 3 week period that i've lost just about 15-17 pounds.

I'm not eating as much as I should, i'm never craving anything so I don't eat, when I do eat it is forced and everything just taste horrible. I counted my callories for the past 3 days and i'm only eating about 600 a day.

And I haven't been sick from anything this year, i've had no infections in recent memory.