Hard lump In 2 year olds neck cancer? Kinda freaking out

[Jessi313621]

A week ago i discovered a quarter size lump on my sons neck under his ear. I immediately took him to the dr. I was concerned about how hard it was. The dr took his blood work (wbc was 13000 but everything else was great) made sure his spleen and liver weren’t enlarged and told me to come back if it got bigger. That was on Friday, but I didn’t feel at peace all weekend. I went back in on Monday to see my normal dr. He also checked spleen & liver and thoroughly felt the swollen knot. He said he thinks it’s a lymphnode but it’s hard and prescribed antibiotics & if it doesn’t start to go down by the end of the antibiotics to come back. On day 4 of antibiotics i noticed 0 difference and actually thought it may have grown. I took him back to the dr and she said to bring him back Monday if there is no change and they will do more blood work and tuberculosis test. I’m a little extra paranoid bc I lost a brother who fought neuroblastoma from age 2-6 and I asked the dr about the lymph node being lymphoma or leukemia and she said her next step after the blood test (if there is no other reason for the swollen node) they will be looking into those possibilities. With that said I’m obviously freaking out and kinda hoping someone else can give me some of their stories.

I'm no help but don't want to read and run

Surely with a family history they wouldn't wait?

Monday is almost here; if it's still not going down, then they've saud they will do more so you won't be waiting long now. But catching things early usually gives the best outcome so don't let them placate you info inaction

It sounds like a gland ... when im not well i get swollen glands there . I think its called an occipital gland .

Also when children are small their swollen glands often seem out of proportion to their size , but thats just because they are little .

My ten month old had issues with lymph nodes. He's had one at the back of his head for a few months, been in and out the doctors and they've said its just a normal enlarged lymph node and they're not worried about it.
A few months ago he had a cold and developed a lump on his neck, it was huge and when I say that, it was the size of an egg. Took him to A and E and they said it's his body fighting off infection. It went after about 2 weeks. He's always getting these ( smaller) lumps but the doctors aren't concerned as they feel like normal lymph nodes, though they are noticeable.
It's easier said than done but try not to worry too much as they can be very common, but anything that you're worried about do keep taking him back to get checked. Hope that helped a bit.

Thanks for replies! I know Monday is just around the corner, but the idea of cancer won’t let me catch a break after watching my brother suffer for so long. I do know that technology has come a long way in 16 years and his cancer was one that is very aggressive but when it comes to my children the word cancer isn’t something I really want to hear. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be so worried if it was soft but with it being very hard it has me unsettled. I am very pushy as far as making sure all the right test are done (Monday will be fourth appointment In two weeks) so hopefully I will get some answers soon.

I agree it is a worry. I found a similar hard odd shaped lump towards the back of my neck. Went to gp who actually panicked and referred me under the 2 week protocol as she thought it was cancer. Saw an ENT consultant who thought it might be signs of throat cancer - camera up nose and down throat and all clear showing no signs. Sent for an ultrasound and needle aspiration biopsy. From gp apt to biopsy results was 6 LONG weeks of worry - anyway good news is that it's a reactionary lymph node to an infection. Definitely not cancer. The lump is now getting smaller by the day and almost gone. Try not to worry and good luck with your sons apt on Monday

I am so sorry you are going through this. It probably is just a swollen lymph node (if it's viral, antibiotics wouldn't make a bit of difference). I once had a series of pea size lumps on my neck starting below my ear scaring the hell out of me and which turned out to be swollen lymph nodes. So sorry, again. I hope you get resolution soon.

DS aged 4 has consistently raised glands and they tended to go up and down quite a lot depending on when he’d been ill or run down. About 6 months ago we realised they’d been constantly raised for about 9 months and so decided to get him checked out. We are v lucky and my private health insurance from work covers DC also so we saw a specialist paed within a couple of days. He did bloods and an ultrasound and thankfully all clear. We were told NHS ultrasound would take at least 6 weeks - but I guess with your history they may prioritise and move faster,

Paediatrician could see the lumps in DSs neck were hard but mobile - he could manipulate them and move them around. He said this meant it was almost certainly glands and nothing more sinister (ultrasound confirmed). Does that sound like what your sons lump is like?

Something else to put your mind at ease a bit - He told us that in 20 plus years in paeds he sees a couple of cases like this a week, and only once had it been something more sinister - this type of cancer is v rare. I know there is always that one case, but I always like to know that the odds are in my favour!
Fingers crossed for you that it turns out to be nothing. You need to get an ultrasound ASAP

My daughter has had this twice and after a few blood tests doc said it was some kind of virus! Her blood tests showed her thyroid levels were up!

A child I minded had it too and it turned out to be glandular fever ... the child was exhausted and had blurry vision where they felt they cudnt see. Child needed lots of rest and got it again a few months later.

Try not to worry!

I think the doctor needs to investigate the lump further. Is probably right that it's nothing serious but it would do no harm to be sure. So push a bit harder. I hope all is well, please let us know.

Fridaseyebrows, Thank you! Yes this sounds similar. I personally thought this was just hard and fixed. However, his pediatrician said it was movable. I’m hoping that’s all it is! They mentioned blood work Monday, but I’m going to ask about a ultrasound as well just to know if it’s fluid or an actual mass. My son has only been on antibiotics one other time since he has been born so I thought for sure that If it was a bacterial infection it would go down, but if it is a viral infection only time can heal. I will keep everyone updated! Thanks for all of the replies! I’m new here and honestly, I could barely get feedback on any other mom site!

Welcome!! Hope you get good news soon. Please come back and update us.

Ds used to get massive lumps in his neck! As someone else said they're v noticeable on small children and very common.

Sorry for the loss of your db.

DD had this when she was around 5 and it scared me senseless as I'd just lost my mum to cancer and was feeling less than rational. Two hard, very noticeable but apparently moveable lumps on her neck and one in her groin which appeared after she had chickenpox but never went away.

Like you we had endless blood tests and monitoring (we'd been referred to the children's hospital by then) and the relief when we were told it was nothing was immense.

We were told she may always have them and in actual fact I was aware of a similar enlarged gland I've always had in my groin and of course my mum told me she'd been through the same worry with me as a child.

Please try not to worry......easier said than done, I know but again like PP's have said we were told it is very common.

We went to pediatrician and had a tuberculosis test along with another CBC and blood work came back fine . It’s about the same as last time. We get the tuberculosis test checked on Thursday and we’re going to bypass any other test and go for a biopsy just to be safe. The pediatrician is still leaning towards an infection but for my sanity a biopsy should give us any answers as far as infection, virus, or cancer goes. I will update if we hear anything else.

Well, that's a start at good news. I am hopeful for you.

I hope it's nothing.

I'm two weeks into a 6-8 weeks to see I feel I have cancer so understand the panic a bit.

Yeah. I was 10 days in but after enough pestering (I went back every few days about the same lump) they scheduled for a biopsy for the following week because I didn’t feel like an ultrasound would give me the peace I needed (they show a mass but without a biopsy they can’t be 100% it’s not cancer.) . However, the lump finally responded to antibiotics and went down over night!

Year