I'm a 38 yr. old who is currently undergoing treatment for two neck issues and I don't know if they could be related. I have had a thyroid nodule for 7 yrs. now. After the initial check of the lump I was told to come back in 6 months. Well, 7 yrs. later I decided to see a Dr. to get it re-checked because I really don't feel good. After an MRI,US & FNA (showed atypical very hypocellular) I am currently awaiting my appt. for a surgeon to biopsy the nodule. (blood work shows thyroid functioning within normal range)
In the last year I have experienced neck pain. When my pain tolerance had been met I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon who shows that I had a slipped cervical disk which has healed and I now have minor arthritis in C5-C6.
My concern is that my symptoms are extreme fatigue, itchy neck, face and ear canals, I feel like I have (sorry)phlegm stuck in my throat but most troubling is a hard lump on the side of my neck. It is about the size of a large marble. It is painless, immobile and hard. I have a constant 'kink' in my neck and the pain is getting worse. I feel as though I'm pulling my neck when i turn it sometimes. My throat will feel tight (like when you are about to cry) and I have a headache that feels like a vise in the back of my head from ear to ear especially when I rest my head back or quickly turn it. The lump is only on the rt. side of my neck. It is towards the back but not on the spine and is about 2 fingers below the base of my head. I showed the lump to my orthopaedic Dr. and he thought it could be my muscles bunched up from my neck pain. But the MRI (no contrast)showed my muscles in the neck looked normal and it didn't show this 'lump' to be bone either. About 6 months ago I started having problems 'coming up with words' in normal conversations. Example, I couldn't say 'smoke' I could only come up with 'fire cloud'. It's not daily, but it's often enough to be annoying. I occasionally experience vertigo and am very forgetful. *sigh* I must sound ridiculous!
I'm a bit nervous to say the least as my mother has cancer (brain, lung) and has a very high incidence of it in her family (brain, lung/brain, pancreatic, colon and my sister had thyroid cancer). I wont see the surgeon for the thyroid nodule until Nov. 4th. I plan to show him the lump to see what he thinks it could be. In the meantime I'm worried about this lump being a lymph node and not from my cervical disk issue.
Am I sounding like a hypochondriac? :0) Can anyone offer any advice or shared experiences?