Hey Dan, were the nodules in your chest hard? I have 3 of them in between my breasts, 1 under my left arm, 2 on my right lung and of course the swollen lymph node is in my right neck. I see the surgeon on the 17th.
HI Dan,
I changed doctors and immediately he questioned the hesitation or ordering a biopsy from the other doctor. I now have it scheduled on 08/17/09. I've had 2 barium CT's just since seeing this doctor. Today they called me in to discuss the results! I'll go in on Friday for that part! I don't know that I have the strength to fight this thing if it is! My niece who is a student doctor, insists that it is and swears that if they don't get a diagnosis soon she's flying up here. She's a go getter! Thank you so much for your response!
The CT was normal. Is it true that they can only get a real diagnosis by doing a biopsy?
I had lymphoma as well - mine started in my mediastinum/chest when I was 20 years old. Its symptoms just started off as a tightness in my throat and night sweats. Eventually those got worse and a lump formed on the side of my neck and the doc said it was time to biopsy. The diagnosis was acute lymphoblastic lymphoma or ALL, which shares a lot of properties and treatments with a leukemia of the same name. I was lucky with mine; even though it was a very high grade and probably would have strangled me in my sleep in a few more weeks untreated, it's also one of the most cureable, with a prognosis of over 90% based on my age, health and the staging (2). Sorry to tell you, but it sounds like you're going to get a positive diagnosis from your doc. The treatment for it can be hell depending on the person and regimen you get, but when you get through it, you'll be a much stronger person.