Hi Snowball13.

I am not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications, but questions around swollen lymph nodes crop up regularly here.

The vast majority of lymph nodes swell up because the body is fighting an infection - even though the person may have no awareness that they're infected. Most of the time the node shrinks back to normal, but this doesn't always happen and a node remains harmlessly swollen.  The general guidance is to see your GP if a node is still swollen after 4-6 weeks - but that doesn't mean that cancer is likely after that time. It's a simply a guideline that's set to make sure that if it really is cancer, it will be caught early while it's relatively easy to treat.

I note that you make no mention of the other symptoms which often (but not always) accompany lymphoma such as drenching night sweats, severe itching, and a few others.

Your partner's GP is doing the right thing by referring her for a scan etc, but the general statistic for all "urgent" cancer referrals is that 9 out of 10 patients turn out NOT to have cancer.  The referral guidelines are set very broadly to catch the 1 person in 10 who does have cancer. 

I know how difficult it is not to worry when a loved one is sick, but there doesn't seem any particular reason to think that this is cancer.  If it is bad news then it will have been caught nice and early with every reason to expect a good outcome after treatment.

Hi there.

Thank you for your response.  It really does mean a lot.

there has been a referral made for CT scan and biopsy as I mentioned but also one has been made for Xray with contrast.  I am not too sure what that means if I am being honest.  So Im not even sure if it is a lymph node now with the Xray - does that mean they are looking at the bone?

I have no idea to be honest.

Thank you.

Hi Snowball13.

With unexplained swollen lymph node(s), the NICE guidelines say the approach is to exclude problems with the spleen, lungs, and so on.  The key word is here is exclude.  In most cases, most people go through these tests and most come out the other side with no cancer found.

Of course, it's worrying for the patient and their loved ones, but it is a necessary step.

Thank you so much telemando.  I really appreciate you taking the time to help understand this all.

We all know what you're both going through now.  My advice is not to worry about any particular test and not question why it's been asked for.  In most cases, there's a routine protocol of tests and most patients who get referred end up going through the same tests.  It's just the way it is, and it's best to go with the flow.