just a note, these are the symptoms of lung cancer as well, especially the hoarseness. My mother had mediastinal lung cancer (in the middle of her chest) that was hidden in xrays, and also has swollen lymph glands and all the symptoms you are describing. I don't like the way doctors just have a wait and see attitude, I would get a 2nd opinion or go to another facility.
Follow the advice on checking the lymphoma but I'm still leaning towards something thyroid related.
Yeah, I know you had yours removed. I did too (papillary carcinoma). Two short years later I had a significant amount of "regrowth" and had to have it nuked (it was cancerous again).
Thyroid tissue can grow back and thyroid cancer loves lymph nodes. Talk to your endocrinologist about an uptake scan to see where your thyroid tissues may be. Often it's been found to migrate all throughout people's bodies but loves the upper chest, lymph areas, lungs, etc.
Your uptake scan can be run while other things are being checked out. The amount of radiation in this scan is pretty low and doesn't preclude many other scans (I and a bunch of MRIs a week after a much, much higher dose of radiation for the cancer recurrence).
Also check with your insurance and see if they cover a PET scan. A PET scan is where glucose is radiated then injected into your body. Cool thing is that cancer LOVES glucose and this scan can find the smallest amounts of cancer. Many insurances won't cover it.
Hang in there and let us know!
Ask your doctor for an ultrasound of your thyroid. It's non-invasive so no worries about contrast or collapsing veins.
When you say you have:
been experiencing low grade fevers, night sweats, chest pressure, upper stomach pressure, nausea, difficulty swallowing, tiredness and headaches for about two years now . . .
it really struck a chord since many of those symptoms could easily be thyroid related.
So can the lymph node swelling.
Good luck
In regards to the thyroid...My was removed in 1995 due to "hot spots" seen on a routine scan (I had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and a large goiter after a 1986 car accident revealed the goiter). The goiter was nine times the size of the gland and had wrapped itself around the vocal cords. It was actually obstructing my breathing and I had no idea. The pathology came back on the goiter fine, no signs of any cancer. So, no thyroid to worry about any more. Any additional comments r advise?
This could also be lymphoma. The symptoms are that of lymphoma. The only to have this diagnosed is to have one of the lymph nodes biopsied.
Hope you feel better!
Deb
I am not sure if this is same thing but I had abnormal ct of chest. I had Enlerged lymph nodes all over esuphagus,in lungs and had several nodules in lungs. I had a media... something ( a biopsy) done through bottom of neck. It turned out to be nothing just inlarged from old infection. Now I have a scar for nothing. I have to have it scanned again in 6 months. I wish you luck.