Is this possibly lymphoma?

Thanks so much!  I guess I’m just nervous because it’s in the groin area, hard, and painless.  But I hope it starts to go down!

Lymph nodes in groin area are bigger than neck nodes and people often think they are swollen but they are normal.They are also harder to feel and find.Generally doctors care only about the size of a node.Adjectives like firm,hard,soft,tender,stuck to the skin are not that important( except if the node feels like a literal rock).I do have 3 nodes in my neck for years and they didnt go down and didnt grow so i stopped worrrying about them.

Hi George!

Just curious where are the 3 nodes located in your neck?

Hi

2 of them are in the left and right posterior cervical group and the 3rd one i am struggling to identify.It is between the sternocleidomastoid muscle and one of the muscles behind it.(a bit deeper than the other 2).

Hmm I have had one on the posterior cervical arera before. Very tiny though, like the size of a pea. At the moment most of my swollen nodes are under my chin/jawline and then one of the back on my neck by my hairline, and one behind my left ear. So annoying -_-

yes it is kind of annoying.My left posterior node is like a pea but a crushed one(????).The right one is like a smashed chewing gum(???)Only the one that is deeper is nice and round.Also my bloodwork shows persistent relative lymphocytosis and my the abs. count of the lymphocytes is always near the upper interval.Other cbc results are fine

thank you! i ended up seeing a different doctor yesterday who thinks its possibly a swollen ingrown hair and says that inguinal nodes are usually in the pelvic region and not in the left upper thigh, but based on my research, i think he could be wrong. regardless, hes running a bunch of blood tests. would blood work likely show if something was wrong or if cancer were there?

a couple months ago, i also had ct of abdomen, chest, and pelvis for a different reason. it was all clear so can lymphoma grow or spread over the two months since fhen?

thanks

Yes, from what I understand, you could actually have lymphoma for years b4 it shows any symptoms, bc it is usually a very slow moving cancer. So if it was very early your bloodwork could show normal even though you do actually have lymphoma. I guess bc it wouldn't be in full force yet.

However, if you have a swollen lymph node that would be a symptom meaning the Lymphoma would be in full force, and then in that case your blood work should definitely reflect anything worrisome. So if it comes back all clear I wouldn't worry too much =)

Also, I think if your CT scan was just 2 months ago it probably would have shown anything worrisome too. That isn't long ago at all and bc Lymphoma is slow moving it wouldn't just pop up suddenly within a month or 2.

thank you! yea i have bad health anxiety and thought i was having health problems a few months ago. after brain mri, pelvic ab and chest ct scans, blood work, urinalysis, no one could find anything wrong. so im glad to know that lymphoma would have showed up back then.

assuming my new bloodwork comes back normal, i dont know how long i should wait before pushing for an ultrasound of the lump. doc seems to think it could be an ingrown hair because of the location, but i could swear lymph nodes can be found in upper inner thigh by the crease. regardless, he didnt seem to concerned and hopefully blood work will indicate if something is off

The only specific test for lymphoma is a biopsy.Doctors look at blood work after someone is diagnosed to check uric acid,beta 2 microglobulin and lactate dehydrogenase(sometimes ferritin too).These tests are to make a conclusion about the prognosis for the patient.WBC,RBC and PLT are checked for the overall condition not for the lymphoma.Indeed there are types of lymphoma that grow slow and show no symptoms.People get diagnosed with such lymphomas when they are 60 to 65 yro.The aggressive types are found in young people too ,but they quickly show symptoms.

You said your doctor thinks it is ingrown hair.They are usually red and kind of painful.By the way if you do not exercise and your muscles are not very big(i dont know what adjective to use) the fibers inside them can "bind" together in groups and this feels like a small lump.It is unlikely though and not a lot of people experience this.

yea im not certain why the doctor thinks its an ingrown hair. if the blood results come back normal, ill wait another couple weeks before going back to the original doctor who thought it was a lymph node but that it wasnt worrisome.

When I first started going to the doctor for mine they said the same, to wait a few weeks and then if it didn't go away try an ultrasound. That's probably what yours will say too if it doesn't go away.

However, don't be afraid if the lump doesn't go away in a few weeks bc mine have been up and down since last year now. Apparently it's not uncommon and they call it "reactive lymph nodes" which basically means oversensitive lymph nodes lol.

hey so update. last week, i ended up seeing a hematologist who wasnt concerned after the physical exam but did all the blood work and sent me for ultrasound to be sure. all the blood work came back normal, except for slightly high c reactive protein and monocytes, but no sign of anything lukemia or lymphoma related. the ultrasound tech couldnt feel a lump and the images showed nothing. im having a hard time telling if its actually a ball lump or just really hard tissue in my upper thigh that feels like a small ball. im very relieved though that the hematologist was not concerned at all and said my results were very good.

Oh good, I'm glad!! =) I hope you are relaxing a bit more now. Maybe it really is just hard tissue then. When I had ultrasounds done for my lymph nodes the tech was able to see them easily on the screen. So that's a good sign yours weren't noticeable 😃

I do have a soft bump on my rib cage, I believe it is from when I accidentally ran into the corner of a table and bruised my ribs... but the bump is still here 2 years later. I had an ultrasound for that as well, while I had my nodes checked, and they said the screen showed nothing. Makes sense tho now bc my Dr said it is prob just fatty tissue from the injury and that doesn't show up. Kind of reminds me of your situation lol.