being tested for lymphoma&leukemia, opinions please!!

I am 29 years old. I have had a persistant low white blood cell count now for over two years. It's usually between 3.0-3.8. Right now it is 3.0. I have had night sweats for a couple of years off and on, and I have had little swollen lymph nodes in my neck and groin for a couple of years. They are about the size of peas. I have had one chest ex-ray and that came back fine, have not had a CT-scan. I am scheduled to have a bone marrow biopsy done in a little over a week.

Are they as painful as they say?
Would a bone marrow biopsy rule them in or out for sure?
What do you all think about my situation, does it sound like cancer??

Thanks,
Carisa

[Klaus156]

Are they as painful as they say ?    I had bone and marrow in the past and felt no pain at all.


Ciao

[Tapanga]

I feel for you .... what did the results check out to be?   Im almost in the same boat and by the way, did the testing hurt?

[Tapanga]

Hello...What did your results ever turn out to be?   I'm almost in the same boat....did the testing hurt any?  Tapanga

[riley180]

Hi.
I think the evaluation is to see if the bone marrow is producing enough white cell precursors. Malignancy is not the only cause of this. Chronic infections may suppress the marrow and render the counts perennially low. Other conditions involving abnormal immune reactions may also render the marrow quiescent.
Pain tolerance varies with different people and it may vary with the difficulty in performing the technique (some people have more prominent bones making it easier to do). The anesthetic covers the area to be punctured, but during aspiration, pain may be felt because the negative pressure can be felt over the entire bone (if the aspirate flows easily, you can expect less pain).