Swollen Lymph Nodes

My massage therapist noticed some lumps in my lower back.   I went to my primary care physician.  She said they were shotty lymph nodes and ordered x-rays and blood work.  The lumps seemed to be causing some discomfort down my back and my leg.  She said the blood work and x-rays look fine.  I was supposed to come back in a month.

This week, I noticed a lump in my groin.  It's oblong in shape about 1/2 an inch, hard and tender when I push on it.  I went in and she said it was a swollen lymph node.  I had been planning a vastectomy so I was going to a urologist.  She said I should get in sooner and ordered Azithromycin.

Frankly, I hate going to my primary care because I feel like I'm a hypochondriac.  But my brother died at a young age of testiclar cancer and this one has me a little freaked out.

My question is how quickly something bad would develop in my groin?  I hadn't noticed in the past and it just seemed sudden.

[Ash Tewari, MD, M.Ch.]

Reactive enlargement of lymphnode in the groin are possible. These are usually less than 1 cm, nontender and without overlying redness.

Groin lymphnodes usually enlarge in response to the inflammatory process in lower limbs upto groin and in the perineum. See if you have any such thing.


Lymphnode enlargement from testicular cancers are uncommon in groin and usually go to the abdomen and higher.

AT