How long can you have swollen lymphnodes before you should get worried?

Question

I have had a couple of swollen lymph nodes on the right side of my neck for about a year. They are only about the size of a pea and have only very minimally increased in size. They do not hurt at all. PLEASE don't say "go to the doctor"! I just want to know...wouldn't they get bigger? When would I begin to get sick if it were something? I know that I don't have mono or hep or anything because I work in the medical field and get tested yearly.

Answer 1

My son was diagnosed with a stage IV abdominal sarcoma after the doctors biopsied a lympth node in his neck. He never noticed that it was swollen at all and never had any symptoms or pain. When he was examined the lympth nodes in the neck, armpits and groin area were all affected. He was asymptomatic up until that point in time. We had not suspected cancer.

A young adult with cancer is able to go for a very, very long time and not suspect they have cancer because they are active and feel healthy. It's a mask, the patient delays being seen or being taken seriously by a doctor . . and that is why most young adults present with stage IV cancer.

You should have the lympth nodes checked just for your own piece of mind. It is probably nothing, but the only way to know for sure is to see a physician. Even then they may not know until they run tests. If you want to be taken seriously about this, you may have to advocate for a definitive diagnosis. Otherwise if you seem in good health, the doctor will dismiss it.

Good luck.

Answer 2

First of all, I would like to know how come you are that sure about the nodes being lymph nodes. They could be lots of types of benign skin nodes.
Secondly, if they indeed were lymph nodes, it would be a little weird to have them swollen for a year already without any other signs of illness.
Thirdly, swollen lymph nodes secondary to an infection would probably be painful. In your case it's not like that. Lymph nodes persisting for longer periods than a month or two, and that are painless would let me think in the direction of malignancies. Tough, malignancies often come together with signs like losing weight, sudden changes of taste and sometimes fever.
In conclusion, unless you have other symptoms you haven't mentioned, I would not worry too much. But I do think it's good to be sure of what the nodes in your neck are. This can only be done by a biopsy (taking a sample of it) so I'd advise you: go to the doctor!

Answer 3

Cancer is actually two different diseases--the tumor stage, and the malignancy stage. If your lumps (tumors) have been there for a year, you are past any normal infection response. This can help, especially the first two books on the list.

Five hundred years ago, people said the world was flat. Today, people say that if the FDA and AMA haven't blessed something, it can't be real good. Well, here's something I know to be real AND good. It's a little different take on cancer treatment--

In 1990, I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 3-B, but I've survived. My doctors were great people, but they were limited to surgery, chemo and radiation by profitable AMA treatment policy. During the year in treatment, I started learning about alternative medicine. I'm a retired engineer, and this is what I've pieced together--our IMMUNE SYSTEMS become weakened by poor nutrition, lack of exercise and reduced oxygen. Once that happens, our body becomes vulnerable to common STRESSORS. Stressors can be environmental, like viruses, heavy metals, pesticides, food additives, electromagnetic waves or pollution. They can be internal things like emotional or job stress, or poisonous people in our lives. Aging is also a contributing factor. So this means:

WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM + STRESSORS = DISEASE (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.)

Our bodies have 60 trillion--yes, trillion--cells, and there are always some mutating into cancer cells, but a healthy immune system kills them before they have a chance to get a foothold in the body.

It takes a LONG time, usually, or a high level of stressors, to weaken the immune system to the point where it won't do its job, but once cancer has formed, it will generally spread rapidly.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! There are ways to BEAT cancer that are currently being used in Europe and around the world, and there are some great books on the subject. I know because I've read about 50 of them from cover to cover. Here's a list of the best ones. Some are out of print and getting hard to find--

"The Cure for All Cancers", ISBN 0963632825
"The Cure for All Advanced Cancers", ISBN 1890035165
"A Cancer Therapy", ISBN 0882681052
"Oxygen Therapies", ISBN 0962052701
"Hydrogen Peroxide--Medical Miracle", ISBN 1885236077
"The Natural Cure for Cancer--Germanium", ISBN 0533071410
"Killing Cancer", ISBN 0705000966
"Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About", ISBN 0975599518

I know of people whose cancer has 'spontaneously remitted' (WENT AWAY for no known reason) AFTER they went on programs of herbs and nutrition to restart their immune systems.

You and your family must look out for yourselves to stand a chance of being healthy. This is not a joke, and I'm not selling anything--just trying to help.
I am using the things I learned in those books right now to fight off a second infestation of cancer. I've been at it for over a year now, and think I'm going to make it. Use what works for you, and pass on your success. Best of luck.

AMA AND FDA--
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the pharmaceutical companies control medical law and the FDA in this country with heavy lobbying and a revolving door policy. WHY would they want to do this? It's about the money. In 2006, medicine (doctors, hospitals, researchers and pharmaceutical firms) received 2.1 TRILLION dollars--15% of the total earnings (GNP 13.7 trillion) in the U.S. This is astounding! It means MILLIONS of people worked the whole year just to pay the nation's medical expenses!! That's totally astounding, and just too big to care about individuals.
http://www.altcancer.com/vidgal.htm#hoxsey

Answer 4

If you have had a course of antibiotics, and that hasn't phased the lymph nodes, you need to be tested for something more serious. There are slow-growing [indolent] types of Lymphoma out there. But, there are also great treatments.
Check this site for the best info:
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls
Best wishes

Answer 5

you already are worried!!! forget about the yearly test - get a referrel to a specialist & get tested for specific problem of swollen lymph nodes. why are you procrastinating?

Answer 6

if you are currently fighting an infection, dont worry about them at the moment. if you are healthy and they are still swollen or increasing in size you might want to start worrying

Answer 7

cancer can live in the body for years before you will ever know its there my husband had cancer over a year before we found out and it had done eat his jaw bone into so i say go to the doctor