Please tell me I'm not dying! (Hard lump on neck)

[BEAUTlFUL]

I'm seeing GP tomorrow, but I have a hard, painless lump on the left side of my neck, round towards the back. About 3 inches below my ear, round towards the back but still on the side, iyswim.

Tell me it's a knotted muscle! It goes away if I put my head right back, but seems to stick out more if I tilt my head over to the right.

I Googled. I also read the John Diamond columns which all started with a neck lump.

About 2 weeks ago, an ENT doctor examined my neck as I thought I might be dying - if there was anything bad there, he'd have felt it, wouldn't he? They know the places to grope around in, don't they?

Tell me it's a knotted muscle. I do carry a lot of tension in my neck.

It's a gland. Honest. They are everywhere.

I didn't go to the ENT about any lumps, btw. I don't know how long this has been there. I only noticed it yesterday.

It's a gland.

I have a bad cold atm - would this make the gland harden up? It is rock hard, and not tender at all.

I'm shitting myself!!

I's a gland

Ds has one on the back of his head that's hard. The GP will check it for you, it's highly likely to be a gland though but let him/her tell you this as I can't see it. It's a problem not being telepathic.

I would put my money on it being a gland. Last month one of mine was really swollen and you could see it sticking out I did get a bit concerned but decided to wait a week and if it was still ther go to DR's but it went away

But why has it suddenly gone hard? I read something about... no, too scary.

How big is the lump?

It's because you have a cold my love. They do this. Let the GP check it though, with me not being able to see through computer screens an all.

Don't google. Google is evil!

Oh God, why? I don't know. it's sort of not a stand-alone lump, not something you could get your fingers behind. More a hard bump? Sort of 1cm across?

I just put a hot flannel on it and it might have deflated a bit.

Ooh I've had some awful things according to google!

I rember holding ds1 when he was a tiny baby and sobbing because according to google I had polio

Obviously after much research on google it wasn't polio it was in fact liver cancer

Should I wait (like ConnorTraceptive) before I see my GP about every swelling?? It's v embarrassing as this is the one I saw last time when I thought I had seconds to live.

gland.

D'you believe us all yet?

The glands on my neck are up and down like yo yo's ever since I had glandular fever. The one on the side of my neck, exactly where you describe but right hand side always comes up if I get so much as a sniffle. Try not to worry.

they have to be at least 2cm to be any trouble

When you have a cold the glands (depends on the illness) enlarge because they are making the fluid (lymph) which has the special cells which seek out the cold virus you have and get ris of it for you. They couldn't o this from a titchy gland so it gets bigger.

Stop fussing woman. Let the GP have a look.

Now paddyclamp, you've got anyone whose swollen gland happens to be closer to 2 cm than 1 cm worrying themselves silly.

If you only noticed it yesterday and you have a cold I would wait a week and see if it's still there.

My friend had a lump near her groing and the dr said wait two weeks and if it's still there come back. It went away.

I am just applying ruler to my neck!

I have 2 in my neck that are permanently the size of petit pois. The GP said they don't do anything unless they get bigger.

Stop fussing!

This is bigger than a petit pois. More like a marrowfat pea.

tis fine.

So is that bigger permanently or bigger during a cold? Mine goes away completely until I get a cold - hasn't changed size for 10 years. I knew I should never have clicked on this thread!