Do I have lymphoma?

by maria
(uk)

Ive had a swollen lymph gland in my neck for 6 months and swollen axillary glands both sides for 14 weeks the axillary ones are at least 3-4 cms in size and dont hurt. The cervical glands are only tender sometimes but very painful when I drink any alcohol. Now ive been to my GP and had bloods taken all normal except for my ESR which was 34. Ive lost 1/2 stone in weight in 3 months and cannot gain weight. I am tired all the time and have occasional night sweats. Im 45 yrs old and normally fit and well. I have asthma which is well controlled and have never had hospital admissions for it. I take Seretide 125 twice a day and salbutamol if necessary. I’ve never smoked and drink alcohol at weekends only. I have no family history that I know of. I’m not on any treatments for this. Ive had a mammogram and chest xray all normal. My doctor wont send me for biopsy as its too expensive and keeps telling me to wait and see what happens. How long do I wait and do my symptoms mean I should be tested further. I welcome a second opinion please.

Swollen Lymph Glands and Pain With Alcohol

I can understand your concern and I am concerned about this too. Your symptoms do point to the possibility of lymphoma and this clearly needs excluding. In particular the pain with alcohol is a characteristic feature of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer of the lymph glands. Night sweats, weight loss, going off food, itchy skin are some of the other symptoms of this condition. You need to get this checked urgently from your description. On the good side, if this ends up being the diagnosis the prognosis with treatment is good.

There are of course lots of other causes of lymph gland enlargement, but these can be checked. The important thing is to ask your GP for a second opinion from a haematologist. You could ask your GP to check your LDH blood level that is likely to be significantly raised in this condition, but to be honest you need to have tests such as a lymph node biopsy, bone marrow examination and staging scans if confirmed. Note, blood counts are often normal in lymphoma. I wish you well with this and please let me know how you get on. Good luck!

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