21 year old DD had 3 Lymph nodes biopsied yesterday. Ten days for results. Mad with anxiety.

[InkyDinky10]

My 21 year old daughter found a lump on the outer edge of her breast and had her clinic appointment yesterday. While performing the ultrasound- the Consultant said that the lump was actually a lymph node and that about 4 or 5 lymph nodes were up in a string from her axilla. She said that if it had been one or two she would not have been concerned. However, because it was a string of them and given my daughter’s history ( she had leukaemia as a 2 year old) she would biopsy three of them. She said that it could well be nothing but other than that said nothing more. My daughter had no questions and I didn’t want to ask anything that would scare her more! Results in 10 days. Afterwards my daughter mentioned to me that she had an itchy painful rash on the same side of her trunk- which looked to me a bit like shingles. She spoke to a GP on the phone, who said by description it might well be shingles and prescribed antivirals. I also know that itching is a sign of lymphoma but this is confined to one side of her trunk with some bumps coming up and two scabbed and look resolving. Going mad with anxiety. Wishing I had asked more questions but still don’t know what I could have asked that wouldn’t have terrified my daughter. Any stories, advice or hand holding welcome.

Please help me someone

I’m so sorry. Could you ring the consultants PA and request a phone call to talk it through? Wishing your daughter all the best 🙏🙏🙏

@InkyDinky10 so sorry that your DD is going through this. No advice but wishing you all the best x

If it helps at all, when my son had lymphoma at 8, he didn't have any itching.

Hopefully it is nothing. Fingers crossed xx

There are lots of benign causes of enlarged lymph nodes. It could be due to shingles.

On the small chance it does turn out to be lymphoma, they are highly treatable.

I hope you get the result quickly.

Lymphoma causes widespread itching

The anxiety during waiting is very, very hard.

The best thing is probably to do everything you can to soothe that, rather than look for answers because the answers are going to come.

Can you walk, meditate, clean or anything like that? You may want to do something but the thing that needs to be done is not your task - it is the testing.

There are so many virus going around just now it could be something like that affecting her lymphnodes, when I had my first COVID vaccination my armpit and outer breast lymphnodes were swollen and painful for a couple of days and I do notice it a little even still when I get a virus now. My son (age 9) had shingles this year as did a boy in the class and when we took him to GP she said she had rarely seen shingles in young people in her career but my son was the second that day and several others recently,it seems to be mutating and catching young people was her feedback from the medical community. I understand you must be terrified, I would be terrified but you must give as much energy to the scariest thoughts as you give to the (more likely) thoughts that it's probably viral and nothing to worry about, try to sit and imagine you'll get the news that it's the all clear, it will help regulate you and it's just a probable if not more than the worst you are thinking, let the difficult thoughts come, acknowledge them and let them go, try not to give them power when they are far from reality at this stage.

I am super grateful for all your comments. They are helpful and comforting and it’s making me feel better. My own falling entirely but since she finished treatment for ALL when she was 5 - I have always lived with the fear of another cancer - so this has really crossed the line in my head. She, as always, is being cool, calm and collected and Of course, I am also appearing to be like that but underneath I am madly anxious. I’m definitely going to try and get my head into other things and do some yoga.

Completely normal.

My son is a year out of treatment and any time he gets a bruise, I'm convinced he has AML because I know he now has a slightly higher risk of developing it.

Repeated COVID infections are damaging our immune systems, there is plenty of evidence for this if you google. So latent/dormant viruses can be reawakened.

This is the likely cause of shingles making an appearance in age groups who wouldn't normally get shingles.

Hard to stop googling anything and everything that might be relevant. Daughter is starting to feel more anxious. Trying to distract us all with Christmas. Anxiety is so hard to keep in check. Felt better after doing some yoga yesterday but the waiting is agony. Trying to remember that there are countless people in the same situation right now. Must resist Google as alternately reassuring and terrifying.

It will almost certainly be shingles that has caused the enlarged lymph nodes. DD will probably find that the itching subsides as she continues to take the anti-virals and by the time she gets the results, it will all be over.
Try to stay positive for her and enjoy your Christmas.

I think the infection (especially if Shingles) is likely to blame. The funniest things can cause lymph nodes to swell and until you’ve had cancer you don’t really think about these things. Because of her history, you both are naturally super alert to changes than someone else might not be. My friend who is in remission from breast cancer had 7 lymph nodes swell in her armpit recently. Sent her into a panic. They scanned them. Turns out she’d had her COVID and flu jabs the week before. It was an immune reaction to the jabs she got in that arm. They disappeared within a few weeks. No cancer. But it was scary.

It is scary with her history but trying hard to keep perspective. Really appreciate all the kind and helpful comments.