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The doctor doing the scan told me the ones I could feel weren’t the big ones as there were bigger ones deeper in. You can now see one of the nodes clearly in my neck and it’s not one I could feel before. I called my doctor and he was able to tell me that the report says several enlarged lymph nodes and several cysts on thyroid. They rescheduled and my appointment was in mid October.ģ weeks later I got a letter for another appointment to see the consultant on 6th Dec. I got the date wrong and turned up a day late. He referred me for an ultrasound anyway.Īppointment came for end of June. He explained to me it was nothing to worry about as young people like me (I’m 37 and flattered lol) might get enlarged nodes due to acne (I had one spot on my cheek). I corrected him and placed his finger right on it. I went to see the consultant in January and he started making notes that the node was not palpable. I went to the GP and he referred me to ENT as I had had a couple of night sweats too. Therefore, enlarged lymph nodes in the chest do not indicate cancer in many cases.I could be completely barking up the wrong tree but I’m worried even though I tell myself not to be.Ī year ago I noticed I could feel a swollen lymph node in my neck. This will often include a detailed history and additional testing. In some cases, a cause for the enlarged nodes may be sought by looking for systemic disease such as sarcoidosis, infections, cancer workup amongst other possibilities. Hot nodes, doesn’t necessarily mean cancer either. If there are hot nodes on this test, then a biopsy may be needed. The thinking is that those tissues that are cancerous will be more active and hotter looking. This is a test which looks at glucose metabolism of tissues. In other cases, a PET scan may be ordered. In chronic lung diseases, the nodes may be enlarged for a long time and have some change over different scans. The nodes should get smaller as the pneumonia clears. If you have a pneumonia, then a follow up may be needed sooner. If they grow, it still doesn’t mean cancer, but a biopsy may be needed. In between, options include follow up in 3 to 6 months to see if they grow more. On the other extreme, a few mildly enlarged nodes may not mean much. In some cases, where the nodes are big, a biopsy will be needed. So what to do if you have enlarged nodes? Your primary care doctor or a lung specialist can manage your particular case depending on your circumstances and history. A patient with a pneumonia or lung disease may have some enlarged nodes which are reactive, or simply your body fighting the infection or lung disease. A patient who is otherwise healthy with a few enlarged nodes may mean nothing and the patient may only need follow up. For example, in a patient with cancer, any enlarged nodes may mean spread or recurrence of cancer.
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The reason for the test and the patients clinical history are most important to sort the causes out. There are many cases where the findings are between those extremes and are not clear.
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They can be enlarged in one area of the chest or in multiple.Ī few mildly enlarged nodes in the chest are sometimes not significant in an otherwise healthy patient while large bulky nodes often mean cancer, either primary, or that which has spread to the chest. There may be one lymph node that is enlarged or many. An enlarged lymph node means it’s bigger then 1 centimeter, although some use different criteria. While some cancers such as lung and lymphoma can present with enlarged lymph nodes, infections, systemic conditions, reactions to drugs, lung diseases, amongst others also present with enlarged lymph nodes in the chest.Įnlarged lymph nodes in the chest are most frequently discovered on CT scans done for various reasons. There are many causes of enlarged lymph nodes in the chest.