excessive sweating for 4 years, 2 months ago, i found lymph nodes in neck and armpit, then started having shortness of breath and deep bone pain oll over my body. Am now waiting for needle biopsy results. should i expect the worst? so scared

4 years of excessive sweating- were they night sweats? I'll grant you that your symptoms are in general similar to lymphoma, but how would you characterize the nodes-- painful or painless?

Ross

You say you thought it was hormones because you're menopausal? If so it would be hard to call this a lymphoma symptom. Have you been running high fevers?

Enlarged, painless nodes are definitely a symptom, but they don't automatically mean lymphoma. The bone pain, OK. the shortness of breath could be caused by many things, including a mass in the chest; are you coughing?

Of course I have no idea what you should prepare for, well, except I might say you might have to prepare to hear, "the results were inconclusive" because FNA biopsies aren't the gold standard. They're the easier, less invasive way of doing a biopsy but also less effective.

Sorry, I'm not the bearer of good news. I hope your results come back definitively negative for lymphoma.

Ross

Oops, sorry. Well at any rate, I don't see how the sweating could be related if it's been going on for so long and you only recently discovered the swollen nodes. In fact it seems fair to eliminate it, maybe you're on an anti-depressant or some other med that makes you sweat? Furthermore, the term used most often is "drenching night sweats" and anyone who's had them can attest to the accuracy of the word 'drenching'.

What about your weight, has it been stable or have you had unexplained weight loss recently?

Again I hope this is a false alarm, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is. There are many reasons to believe that.

Ross

Prolem is, i dont know how long the nodes have been sittng there. I only got alarmed and found them after feeling the bone bain.

Trust me, i know wat u mean when you say "drenching", and for me its both day and night. cant take 2 steps in the sun without having them :(

And you were right, the sample from the needle biopsy wasnt so good so i have to wait a coupla weeks to have another one taken. Feels like a lifetime wait..

And no, am not coughing

I too have had night sweats with swollen pain free nodes for years. They usually come around when I am pms'ing and go away soon after. This last time however, the nodes in my groin swelled w/ excruciating pain. I went into emergency surgery and they inserted a drain tube. Years ago a MD diagnosed my lymph nodes as a hernia and I took myself to the hospital thinking it was hernia. The initial test says type B lymphoma but the biopsy will tell me which subset type it is. I still think I have a case of cat scratch fever and not lymphoma. I have moderate acne as well and when I do get a cat scratch that's where the nodes swell when I am pms'ing. I'm on metronidazole (anti-parasite) and cephalexin. My nodes have gone down in swelling somewhat but I think I should have been given erthyromyecin, because last time I had that atb the nodes didn't swell for at least 2 years.

I recently went through CHOP-R for stage 4 NHL and I was told I probably had it for several years. I never noticed a swollen lymphnode, neither did my OB/GYN with regular visits. Had surgery with all the work up the year before the diagnosis with CAT scans. Absolutly noticed "0" symptoms. I had lost a lot of weight but was trying. So You never know about the symptoms. The sweating, lymphnodes...could be from something totally unrelated to cancer. The PET scan is a good option if you can. Just thought it might put your mind at ease till results are in. I'm in remission now.

Bellevue's (Washington not NYC) Overlake Hospital diligently tried to funnel me into their Cancer Care facility but I was not having anything to do with that hospital, what a terrible place, no protocols and very sloppy. Instead, I enrolled into Fred Hutchinson Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Lymphoma Center, protocols tripled and very tightly professional. I was given appointments for the initial work-up to verify the disease and it's stage. We found nodes enlarged throughout most of my body w/ one pressing on my kidney and a slight metastasis to my right lung. Once we found that I am an advanced stage 3 follicular lymphoma we discussed the best course of action for me and chose 6 - 3 wk cycles of R-CHOP + doxorubicin followed by Bexxar and 3 cycles over 4 yrs of Rituximab.
The predinose high is pretty extreme, knowing to take the anti-emetics once I get home from chemo is very important and not to wait until the following day. As well, I had started my period the same day as chemo and tried not to take advil to lighten the load on my internal organs.
Very important, I was not told until signing the consent form for the r-chop that it may cause amenorrhea and at my age 41 it may even push me into early meno-pause. Early meno-pause is much more psychologically shocking than loosing my hair. I just wish ppl wouldn't worry so much more about loosing their hair when it'll grow back than loosing the chance at motherhood which doesn't grow back.
Good luck, don't wait. It can be curable from what I understand but the earlier found the easier the treatment w/ less harmful side effects.