After this week, I have two more weeks until summer. I noticed this lump in my neck around a half a year ago. Lately, I've been thinking about it more. I am 19 years old and I am scared that might I have cancer. I am not ready to die. It is a hard lump in the muscle in the back of my neck, about a centimeter in diameter. It doesn't hurt at all. I have had dry skin in that spot for a year. I don't know if that is related. Would it make any sense for me to go to school health services now, or should I wait until summer? School is not near my home. Are there any tests they could do in 2 weeks? Has anyone had similar lumps? Could waiting 2 weeks be the difference between life and death? I haven't accepted my death yet. I'm very scared, but could health services do anything in 2 weeks?
Two weeks won't make a difference but please don't jump to the conclusion that's it's cancer. There are a bunch of other, non-life threatening things it could be. Go to the school health services so you can stop worrying. Most of the time, the doctor can tell just by looking what it is. It could be a cyst of some kind that may or may not need draining; some will just go away on their own or it could just be a small lump of fat. Don't worry yourself unnecessarily. I'm sure you'll be fine. Let us know.
You remind me of myself when my health anxiety comes back (fortunately rarely). "I'm not ready to die" etc. It doesn't sound like cancer and you've had it for a long time, it would have got bigger by now, I don't think two more weeks would make any difference. Also, don't google things.
I have some too, and I'm almost sure they're normal. They don't grow, although they occasionally swell (and/or hurt). It could simply be some sort of ganglion, since the body has a lot of those around the neck. If it's not evolving, or not swollen enough that it's really visible, there's no reason to panic. Also, yeah, don't google things. That'll just make things worse for you.
Thank you all helping me calm down. I scheduled an appointment with health services for Tuesday. I just kind of panicked last night. I'm feeling better now. When I told the health services person how long I have had the lump, she didn't seem too worried.
