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Axillary Lymph Node and Lung Cancer
by Newhall, Sep 12, 2007 09:58AM
am a 46 y/o female. There is history of Breast cancer in my family. My oldest sister was 48 when she passed away from Breast cancer. Last year (3/6/06) I had a mamo and sono done in my right breast which came back abnormal. I went to them because while taking a shower I found/felt a hard nodule under my armpit which I found to be disturbing. I was told to get a sono which came back indicating the following:
Examination shows evidence of 20 x 8 mm (2. 1 cm?) oval shaped solid nodule noted rt mid axilla. This appears to fall into probably benign category. When I came back to the breast doctor with the results he told me the nodule is very deep in my underarm. Surgery (Lymph node biopsy) was an option, however, he told me that I could possibly have complications with my right arm and since I am right handed it may be more of a problem. When I came back to the breast doctor with the results he told me the nodule is very deep in my underarm. Before contemplating on surgery, which I was ready for, he sent me to my primary doctor for blood works (TB and HIV). Those came back fine and I went back to see the breast doctor again. If the blood work came back fine, then we were going to talk AGAIN about surgery. That didn't happen. He (breast doctor) changed his mind and decided to wait a couple of more months to see if there were any changes. By now I am frustrated, tired but most of all worried to death. Okay, so I now wait a couple of months and to my surprise I am out of health insurance. (long story). A year has passed and the Lymph node seems to have gotten bigger. Since then, I've been without insurance but I have managed to contact a clinic where they have given me some insurance to have a diagnostic mamo done. I should mention that the lump feels fixed, no pain and rather large. I've had 3 prior biopsies of the breast but they all have come back benign.
I should also mention that I went to see my primary doctor because for the past 3 weeks I noticed a large swollen/enlarged mass (almost the size of my palm) on my right side around my rib cage (under my bra line) --perhaps 2-3 rib at bottom? I paid no mind thinking that maybe I slept wrong but it has not gone away. There is no pain in the immediate area; however, there is at times discomfort/pain on my back (shoulder blade/lung) and in front/right of my stomach. I've always had pain in my stomach since I suffer from ulcers so didn't give it another thought. I am also coughing (moderately) and bringing up phlegm (brownish).
In any event, the doctor immediately told me I needed to get a CT scan of chest and right sided lateral trunk with contrast. This is to rule out mass chest wall malignancy (cancer). As well as having several blood work done: ANA, CMP, CBC, RF, FBS, TSH, LFT. Since my ANA came back positive (1:80)(320) last year he wants to run it again. I also have what seems to be the butterfly mark on my face. I was seeing a doctor for Lupus but because the other blood work did not come back positive I was told that perhaps it may be rheumatoid Arthritis.
Also, about a week before I noticed the swollen rib cage area I went to the emergency room because my right knee (top) was extremely swollen. Since I have thrombophlebitis I thought it may had something to do with that. I had a sonogram done of veins to look for DVT and it came back negative. The doctor at the emergency room did not do any tests for my knee. She only said that it could be from the thrombo in my legs.
Well, until I have the CT done and blood work I will not know what on earth is wrong. He also mentioned it could be fatty tissue but to tell you the truth he did not convince me of that. I still have no insurance and the program I was given for the mammogram does not cover anything else. Why does he feel there may be a malignancy? Is it because where is located/symptoms?
My question is, could this swelling of my rib cage be related to the Axillary Lymph node and/or Lung cancer? I am a smoker and my father passed away of Lung cancer several years ago.
Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Examination shows evidence of 20 x 8 mm (2. 1 cm?) oval shaped solid nodule noted rt mid axilla. This appears to fall into probably benign category. When I came back to the breast doctor with the results he told me the nodule is very deep in my underarm. Surgery (Lymph node biopsy) was an option, however, he told me that I could possibly have complications with my right arm and since I am right handed it may be more of a problem. When I came back to the breast doctor with the results he told me the nodule is very deep in my underarm. Before contemplating on surgery, which I was ready for, he sent me to my primary doctor for blood works (TB and HIV). Those came back fine and I went back to see the breast doctor again. If the blood work came back fine, then we were going to talk AGAIN about surgery. That didn't happen. He (breast doctor) changed his mind and decided to wait a couple of more months to see if there were any changes. By now I am frustrated, tired but most of all worried to death. Okay, so I now wait a couple of months and to my surprise I am out of health insurance. (long story). A year has passed and the Lymph node seems to have gotten bigger. Since then, I've been without insurance but I have managed to contact a clinic where they have given me some insurance to have a diagnostic mamo done. I should mention that the lump feels fixed, no pain and rather large. I've had 3 prior biopsies of the breast but they all have come back benign.
I should also mention that I went to see my primary doctor because for the past 3 weeks I noticed a large swollen/enlarged mass (almost the size of my palm) on my right side around my rib cage (under my bra line) --perhaps 2-3 rib at bottom? I paid no mind thinking that maybe I slept wrong but it has not gone away. There is no pain in the immediate area; however, there is at times discomfort/pain on my back (shoulder blade/lung) and in front/right of my stomach. I've always had pain in my stomach since I suffer from ulcers so didn't give it another thought. I am also coughing (moderately) and bringing up phlegm (brownish).
In any event, the doctor immediately told me I needed to get a CT scan of chest and right sided lateral trunk with contrast. This is to rule out mass chest wall malignancy (cancer). As well as having several blood work done: ANA, CMP, CBC, RF, FBS, TSH, LFT. Since my ANA came back positive (1:80)(320) last year he wants to run it again. I also have what seems to be the butterfly mark on my face. I was seeing a doctor for Lupus but because the other blood work did not come back positive I was told that perhaps it may be rheumatoid Arthritis.
Also, about a week before I noticed the swollen rib cage area I went to the emergency room because my right knee (top) was extremely swollen. Since I have thrombophlebitis I thought it may had something to do with that. I had a sonogram done of veins to look for DVT and it came back negative. The doctor at the emergency room did not do any tests for my knee. She only said that it could be from the thrombo in my legs.
Well, until I have the CT done and blood work I will not know what on earth is wrong. He also mentioned it could be fatty tissue but to tell you the truth he did not convince me of that. I still have no insurance and the program I was given for the mammogram does not cover anything else. Why does he feel there may be a malignancy? Is it because where is located/symptoms?
My question is, could this swelling of my rib cage be related to the Axillary Lymph node and/or Lung cancer? I am a smoker and my father passed away of Lung cancer several years ago.
Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Enoch Choi, MD
Palo Alto, CA
I was diagnosed with lung cancer Oct/06. Stable since Feb/07. Had a lymph node taken out in Dec/04. Now I have another growing. What happens now ? Are lymph nodes continue to swell and will have to be taken out or is this an indication that the cancer might be spreading to other parts of the body ? Any thoughts>