Lump in Arm

[isavegas]

My 26 year old physically fit husband found a painless tight lump (roughly 1-2 inches) deep inside his left arm 3 or 4 weeks ago. It's about 5 inches down from his arm pit on the inner part of his arm.

It doesn't move freely and feels like its underneath his viens. The lump is hard and kinda tublar shaped. He has occasional tingling up and down that arm to the little finger and mild chest pains. The only injury he substained recently was a broken left collar bone a year ago but somehow I don't think they are connected.

Could this be cancer, cyst, or what? He is between jobs and doesn't have insurance right now. Best we can do is go to the local er and run up yet more bills we cannot pay anytime soon. He refuses to do so unless there's a serious enough indication to go.

The only other thing I can think of to add is he hasn't been feeling quite right lately and his body temperature has been kinda low, an average of 96.5 to 97.6 .

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  You don't have to bring your husband to the emergency room right now.  A simple outpatient consult will do to evaluate that arm lump.  You may opt to wait it out until your husband has acquired medical insurance, but I suggest that you observe that lump for signs of rapid growth or worsening pain.  If these things happen, it might be best to see a doctor sooner.

[isavegas]

Thank you, I will research online the options you brought up. So he needs to just see a doctor. not go to the emergency room?

Would it be okay to wait a few months? Like I said earlier, he is in between jobs and it could be a few months before he has insurance in order to see a doctor about this.

Is there anything else I should be looking for in my husband?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Dr Roque.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  A 1-2 inch lump found deep within your husband's left arm is something unusual and should be brought to the doctor for further investigation.  It may just be a non-cancerous tumor, such as a lipoma (a tumor composed of fat cells), but there is also a possibility of sarcoma (cancer involving muscles, bones and ligaments).  A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study of your husband's left arm may need to be done to determine what that lump really is.