My doctors think i have a swolen lympf node and it is. I've taken medicine and it went down a little. Why?

Question

I've had it swolen for almost 2 months now. I don't think it will ever go down. My doctors say it will go down but I don't think so.

Answer 1

I had swollen nodes for 6 months due to an infection...

Believe it or not, the doc said it was "Cat Scratch Fever." Yup, got to meet Nugent a few years later too!

Obviously you're concerned. The doc might order a biopsy if the antibiotics don't work... but it looks like they're working.

Answer 2

If you have a had a swollen lymph node for more than six weeks you should have a CBC checked to make sure that it is not lymphoma. If your CBC is okay, you may discuss biopsy of the node with your doctor, however this procedure is a bit more invasive than simply drawing blood and you should take into consideration your age etc. and overall risk for lymphoma. Usually cancerous lesions don't hurt so if yours does its kind of a good sign.
In general the lymph nodes swell when they do their job which is protect from infection and produce immune cells. If this is the case.....it's just your body doing its job. But two months is a bit long. Consider that you may have gotten several infections in row and the lymph node just responded appropriately. There is no reason you can't get a viral sore throat, then an ear infection, then the flu in succession and the lymph node just keeps working overtime.