lump in 6 year old's neck

[tararyanleah]

my 6 yr old dtr has had a lump in her neck since dec 1st i've seen numerous docs and a paed.who reassured me that ev's ok he also did blood tests to confirm.however,it's still there and i'm getting scared again as it's an enlarged lymph node.just how long can one enl.lymph node stay up? she's got quite a husky voice which she's had a while but now i keep thinking this lump is the reason for it. really worried.

I know that lymph nodes can stay enlarged for a long time because I had one myself in my early 20's. It scared me, it really did, you think the worst don't you, and especially when they referred me to the hospital etc. Anyway, eventually they took it out and looked at it and told me it was just an enlarged node that had probably reacted to an infection and not gone down again - no other explanation!!

If they've done blood tests and everything is OK, they must have ruled out anything sinister. When was the last time you saw anyone - did they tell you to come back at any time or when they thought it would go down?

more likely the infection which is causing the husky voice (mild sore throat, lots of catarrh?) is keeping the lymph node working hard and therefore swollen.

My ds also had an enlarged lymph node a while ago - just appeared on his neck one day - he had some bloods taken too and all was fine - can't remember if he was given any antibiotics on that occasion (- possibly as he is very prone to chest infections and they start as a virus in his throat followed by secondary bacterial infections). Anyhow, the point being that it went away over a week or so and has not returned and if I were in your position, I'd be worried too and be wanting some answers as to how long these things can hang around for? Ds1 is also 6. Is she in any pain?

no she's not in any pain with the lump which also concerns me as i have read about hodgkin's etc and apparently they can turn cancerous. the paediatrician i went to see told me he could show me a whole ward of people with the disease and that i need to stop reading the internet.i was relieved at the time and i'm certainly not wishing anything on her but i am still worried.one doc told me it could be there for years!!!

How many times can you question doctors? Before my dtr.saw the Paed.-she was actually due to see him in a couple of weeks after we found the lump which is why we got to see him so quick-I questioned x4 doctors.1st one told me to go back to my own gp if it hadn't gone down within the week.2nd one told me that it was a friendly lump and i shd.just forget about it. 3rd-my own gp-said to come back within the week if it hadn't gone down.4th told me he would fax a letter through to the paed.as I was so distressed. Paed.has told me to forget about the lump.How can I forget when it's there?

Hodgkin's was what worried me too, particularly due to my age and also that my boyfriend had it at the time - but I think bloods would show up something if that was the case. My boyfriend had the lump in the neck but we actually only noticed that later, he had lots of other symptoms that lead us to pursue a diagnosis. If your dd has no other symptoms I'm sure it's just enlarged and there's no problem. My boyfriend was very, very lethargic and unwell before we noticed the lump.

If you are really not happy and would prefer for it to be removed, I'd keep going back and hassling them.

i noticed a lump on ds's neck when he was about 1 yr old I panicked and thought the worst but after tests and an ultrasound it was just an enlarged lymph node Was offered no treatment and it was still there 5/6 yrs later.it never grew and now it goes up and down if he is unwell