“ I felt really rough, very fatigued, and faint. If you notice any other symptoms such as night sweats, persistent fever (more than 3-4 days), or unexplained weight loss, visit your doctor immediately. You are also experiencing other symptoms of leukaemia – Leukaemia symptoms normally occur in clusters.Any lumps on the neck, groin or armpits that are hard, very enlarged, and do not move when pushed may indicate lymphoma or another type of cancer and should be investigated by your GP. Healthy lymph nodes are more rubbery than the surrounding tissue but are not solid like stone. However, occasionally they can feel very hard and cannot be moved when pushed. They are hard or unmovable – Unfortunately, apart from being painless and abnormally large, swollen lymph nodes in leukaemia or lymphoma tend to feel quite similar to infected lymph nodes.You should make an appointment with your GP if you have a swollen gland and no other signs of illness or infection. You can’t work out what has caused them to enlarge – Normally you will have a fairly good idea as to why your lymph node is swollen, for example, you might have a cold or a tooth infection.I was at work one day and the chap on the desk next to me said it like it was getting bigger, so I went along to my doctor. “ I had a sort of lump on the side of my neck. Because the swollen lymph nodes are often painless, they can sometimes grow in size before a person even notices them. Lymph nodes that are around 1 or 2 inches or bigger are not normal and should be carefully inspected by a GP. They continue to grow in size – In their swollen state during an infection, lymph nodes can enlarge to a size of half an inch in diameter.It wasn’t painful at all, but it was a bit of a nuisance. I didn’t think much about it as I presumed it was just a lump of fat that was natural with age. “ I noticed a lump that appeared on my jaw line. This is because they can grow big enough to press down on surrounding nerves or other organs, causing pain. This being said, leukaemia or lymphoma (another type of blood cancer) can cause painful lymph nodes on occasion. It is important to get painless lumps checked out by a GP to determine the cause of the enlargement. They are painless – Rather surprisingly, tenderness, redness or warmth of the nodes is actually a good sign as it is more likely to indicate infection of the node.I carried on going to work but I didn’t seem to be getting any better. “ I was told I had a bad case of tonsillitis and was given two weeks’ worth of antibiotics. After a couple of weeks of it not going down, I made an appointment to see the doctor. “ I noticed a swollen gland near my collar bone. Make sure you visit your GP if your lymph nodes don’t seem to be improving within this time or aren’t getting better with antibiotics. They last for longer than two weeks – Swollen glands caused by an infection will normally go down within two or three weeks (i.e until the infection has been naturally dealt with).Spotting the difference between harmless and harmful lymph nodes may be crucial in diagnosing leukaemia early.Īlthough swollen lymph nodes are nearly always caused by infection or reaction to an allergy, there are a few things you can look out for to help spot the difference between leukaemia and infection: ”Ĭertain characteristics such as the size of the lymph nodes, the way they feel or how long they last can help to differentiate swelling caused by infection from that caused by leukaemia or another type of blood cancer. I went back and was signed off again with a different antibiotic. However, at the end of the week, I was no better. He thought it was tonsillitis, so gave me antibiotics.
“ I made an appointment to go see my GP after work. However, because of this, swollen lymph nodes can easily be mistaken as harmless when in fact they could be a warning sign of something more serious, such as blood cancer.
When enlarged they can be felt or seen as raised lumps underneath the skin, most commonly in the neck, the armpits, or in the groin area.įor the vast majority of cases, swollen lymph nodes indicate nothing more than the fact that your body is fighting off an infection such as tonsillitis or even a common cold. Also referred to as “swollen glands”, lymph nodes are pea-sized lumps of tissue that contain white blood cells. Swollen lymph nodes occur as a symptom of leukaemia in approximately 20% of patients prior to their diagnosis.
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