swollen lympnodes neck & groin

My daughter started having swollen lympnodes in her neck & groin area with out any signs of being sick at age 19 months. Then she started running low grade fevers for about 5 months and had a weight loss. During thoses months we also noticed her tonsils became enlarged which started causing her to have sleep apnea. At 2 yearls Old Her regular doctor recommended her going to ENT because he was thinking that the tonsils were causing the swelling in lympnodes. The ENT reccomended removal of tonsils & adnoids ASAP because of sleep apnea. She went for surgery on Dec. 29th 2008. ENT ran test on tonsils for lymphoma because she was very concerned with the swollen lympnodes & fevers (Test came back normal) & couldn't give me a reason for her tonsils being swollen. We went for her 3 week check up after surgery & ENT says that she is healing great in throat but is still concerned with the enlarged lympnodes. She goes back to ENT in 6 weeks to see if there is some change in size of lympnodes. ENT said that if Lympnodes are still swollen at her re-check she will then reccomend us going back to regular doctor for him to do more testing to find out the cause of swollen lympnodes in neck & groin. Should I be concerned? Is it possible she does have lymphoma ? Are there any other test that I should have done when she goes back to her regular doctor? I am trying not to worry but I thought that she would be better after surgery.

[Dnmh]

First off, Welcome to the community! I hope we can help you find answers and peace of mind!
Lymph node swelling does take time to go down and they tend to swell to a greater degree in children. Unfortunatley, the only way to test for lymphoma is a core biopsy of a swollen node. The fact that the tonsils came back negative from pathology can be a good sign though, because the tonsils are a part of the lymphatic system and those being the most swollen would, IF it were lymphoma, be where it started. In a very small way, medhelpgirl is right, but only as it relates to leukemia. That is a blood cancer, but it would have shown up in any blood work with a very elevated white count and only shown up in the lymph system if it had metastisized. Lymphoma can't be detected in blood tests unless it's very, very advanced, because it originates in the lymph system. IF they are concerned about lymphoma, they generally do CT scans to look for other lymph node enlargement, and do the biopsy on the largest. At her young age, they may recommend an ultrasound since it doesn't involve using a contrast dye if they continue being concerned.
It's quite possible she had an infection which caused her tonsils to swell, and like I mentioned, lymph nodes do take time to return to either normal, or almost normal. There are some instances where they never go back to "normal" size.
Have her fevers gone away? Is she gaining weight? Does she seem to be behaving like a usual 2 year old? Those are the things I would be watching more than the size of her lymph nodes.

Please touch base and keep us posted!

[Daisha2]

Thanks, we go on March 5th for re-check and I will definatley keep everyone posted. Her fevers seem to be gone so that may be a good sign. She has not gained any weight back yet but she was always small for her age before all of this weighing only 23 1/2 pounds and now weighing only 22 1/2 pounds. She is a very active 2 year old does not seem to be sick in anyway. When we go back I will suggest the test you have mentioned if the swelling still persist in her lymph nodes.

Thanks So Much  

[Dnmh]

I'm rasing my 3 yr old grand-daughter, and understand your worries (it's never a headache, it's always a tumor) completely! A one pound difference at this age isn't that uncommon since the growth spurts cause either weight gain, or length gain, but in my experience (3 kids too - 16, 18, 23) they never happen together. My kids have gained 3-4 inches in height, while losing 2 lbs in weight. It all evens out in the end!

The most important indicator will be her behavior - again, learned from years of raising kids... one with asthma, psoriosis (psoriasis) and ADHD!

I wish you both the best and am anxious as well to hear what her doctor says!