swollen lymph node in throat for near an year now

[human88]

Hi,i have a swollen lymph node on the outside of my throat about 2cm above and on the right side of my adams apple...it never goes away...the maximum it went was near 1.5 cm and right now it is around 1-1.5 mm,it fluctuates in size,sometimes gets big sometimes gets smaller...i have a same size lymph node on the left side of my neck some centimeter under the ear but it never grows it just stays 1mm in size...i showed it to my physician and he said that its nothing,my question is that why does it not go away...i have no lump inside my throat,im 21 male...although sometimes my voice gets hoarse and i do feel that something is growing in my throat,but when i swallow i feel nothing,i go to the doctor he looked inside till my adams apple and said its nothing...another weird thing is that when i make strong ginger honey liquid by boiling ginger in water for a while...the lymph node decreases in size...i went to two doctors they said its nothing ,you are very young and God forbid no chance of oral or throat cancer,i do have a history of moderate smoking and mild drinking...then what is it why does the lymph node not go away....

[human88]

Thanks,it helped i will surely get neck ultrasound done,and let you know the results,again thanks for your reassuring advice,in future kindly answer any questions i might have.
Best Regards

[OHNS2010]

Hi,

Relax!!! Not all swellings in the throat turns out to be a cancer. There are lots of predisposing factors to cause it. Laryngeal malignancies are indeed uncommon in your age. A simple analogy, if there is a plane crash some where, there is no point in fearing to travel by plane or expect all the planes to crash. Just because you have come across some one who had a cancer it does not mean you should get one.

There are few mid line lesions you should be concerned about, one of the most common being thyroglossal cyst. This is one which fluctuates in size and shape. Others include enlargement of a lobe of thyroid or thyroid cyst. My advise to you would be to get a USG neck done.

Have faith in your doctors they will definitely help you out. All the best.

Regards
OHNS 2010

[human88]

i can hardly feel it but when i harden my neck muscle then i feel it and i described it all to you above...sir i am very scared of head and neck cancer,i cannot sleep,ive become a hypochondriac,im tense all the time...i dont want to die and i dont want to lose my voice,i want to support my family,i want to start a family too...please help me sir,im very worried

[human88]

And sir,should i get a neck x-ray or a neck ultrasound done?

[human88]

Thanks alot for replying sir,if it is not a lymph node then what else can it be considering it changes size,...let me tell you the exact location again,it is approximately one and a half inch above my adams apple a little on the right side of my neck.i cannot feel any lump on the inside of my throat,please tell me that we can rule out any cancer considering my age,im only going to turn 22. i read that for a serious infection the lymph node grows alot in size not just one mm or one cm....if they are cysts then are they curable?

[OHNS2010]

Hi,

I am extremely sorry for not answering your query. My question is, are you sure that the swelling is just a lymph node? If so, the first location of the swelling you quoted is in the pre-tracheal region which is rare to be seen. This usually develops when there is infection in the front of the neck. The second location you mentioned is the common site for the lymph nodes to get enlarged during throat infection.

The lymph nodes are the policemen of our body, they always indicate an ongoing infection.
I would also suggest you to get an ultrasound of the neck done so that any other cysts in the midline can be ruled out.

Any more doubts you are welcome.

Regards
OHNS2010