Lump in left side of my neck with a rash.

[jdcnow]

So Friday night, I woke up, and noticed a rash on my left shoulder and neck - just blotchy spots like from a lot of little insect bites. I got to feeling around, and there's a lump in the left side of my neck.

I'm ballparking it as about Whopper-sized... (The chocolate covered malt ball candy pictured below, as a size reference, to give you some idea.)

I ran a keyword search for "lump in left side of neck with rash" on Google, and seriously, all that came back was cancer, cancer, cancer, all the way down the page. And I'm like, "Oh shit, this is going to be a thing, isn't it?"

I've got 2 weeks until I can go see a doc about it - that lovely waiting period until New Years, when the insurance from my work kicks in on January 1st. (It's probably a good thing I splurged on that Platinum-level coverage, huh?)

Here in the city, a walk-in general practitioner doctor's office like CareNow would probably be a good way to go.

According to my fabric tape measure, this lump is about 3 and a half inches below my left ear.

I've tried feeling around for the same lump on the right side, and no, there is none.

As for the rash, I am for sure that I don't have bedbugs, as my apartment complex has superior pest control (I wouldn't live here if it didn't - insects are an absolute deal-breaker with me). In fact, they just came week before last and treated my bedroom as a preventative measure for something totally unrelated (a very mild ant issue). I slept on my right side the following night, and nothing on my right shoulder. I've washed my bed sheets, just in case. But this rash is confined to my left shoulder and left side of my neck, where the lump is. And it's just there, it hasn't spread anywhere else.

I'm kinda worried about lymphoma - lymph node cancer.

Is there something else it could be? Anything else at all this could be? Please talk me off this cliff!

Thanks.

 

[Benvolio]

So Friday night, I woke up, and noticed a rash on my left shoulder and neck - just blotchy spots like from a lot of little insect bites. I got to feeling around, and there's a lump in the left side of my neck.

I'm ballparking it as about Whopper-sized... (The chocolate covered malt ball candy pictured below, as a size reference, to give you some idea.)

I ran a keyword search for "lump in left side of neck with rash" on Google, and seriously, all that came back was cancer, cancer, cancer, all the way down the page. And I'm like, "Oh shit, this is going to be a thing, isn't it?"

I've got 2 weeks until I can go see a doc about it - that lovely waiting period until New Years, when the insurance from my work kicks in on January 1st. (It's probably a good thing I splurged on that Platinum-level coverage, huh?)

Here in the city, a walk-in general practitioner doctor's office like CareNow would probably be a good way to go.

According to my fabric tape measure, this lump is about 3 and a half inches below my left ear.

I've tried feeling around for the same lump on the right side, and no, there is none.

As for the rash, I am for sure that I don't have bedbugs, as my apartment complex has superior pest control (I wouldn't live here if it didn't - insects are an absolute deal-breaker with me). In fact, they just came week before last and treated my bedroom as a preventative measure for something totally unrelated (a very mild ant issue). I slept on my right side the following night, and nothing on my right shoulder. I've washed my bed sheets, just in case. But this rash is confined to my left shoulder and left side of my neck, where the lump is. And it's just there, it hasn't spread anywhere else.

I'm kinda worried about lymphoma - lymph node cancer.

Is there something else it could be? Anything else at all this could be? Please talk me off this cliff!

Thanks.

Relax, there are many, many possible cause of lymph node swelling, most just a short term infection. I think you should go to an emergency room. The rash sounds like it might be shingles. Very unpleasant and treatment only effective if begun immediately. Google shingles and look for photos.

 

[KaraBulut]

Most of the time, swelling in the lymph nodes in the neck and around the head is an indication of an infection. It's enlargement in the other groups of lymph nodes that we worry about.

Below is a picture of the different chains of nodes. Which group is it that you have the enlarged node? And is it just the one node that is enlarged?

 

[justsimon]

I had the exact same symptoms a few weeks ago (it was an anterior cervical lymph node), also on the left side. My doctor told me not to worry about it and to do what I do for a cold (fluids, rest, etc.). It cleared up in about a week.

 

[jdcnow]

Thanks to all for the replies...

Most of the time, swelling in the lymph nodes in the neck and around the head is an indication of an infection. It's enlargement in the other groups of lymph nodes that we worry about.

Below is a picture of the different chains of nodes. Which group is it that you have the enlarged node? And is it just the one node that is enlarged?

The main lump is one of the Posterior Cervical nodes. But there is a smaller lump (honestly, about the size of a cashew - present enough, but not very big) in the Supraclavicular area.

These rashes have stopped spreading for the moment - still confined to my left shoulder and left upper bicep alone.

I've been told to try Calamine spray for the rashes.

 

[KaraBulut]

The main lump is one of the Posterior Cervical nodes. But there is a smaller lump (honestly, about the size of a cashew - present enough, but not very big) in the Supraclavicular area.

These rashes have stopped spreading for the moment - still confined to my left shoulder and left upper bicep alone.

I've been told to try Calamine spray for the rashes.

The timing on this is complicated because of your insurance situation.

Normally, the recommendation would be to see your family doctor for some tests to determine whether you have an infection or whether there may be another cause for the rash and the lymph node swelling. Your physician would also check the nodes in other areas of your body. The blood tests at full price are moderately expensive and unless you're covered by Medicaid or qualify for the county clinic programs, you would have to pay out-of-pocket.

Because of your insurance situation, you could attempt to manage the rash yourself with topical treatments until your insurance kicks in and then get an appointment immediately with your doctor so that the tests are covered by your insurance. Because of the holidays, you may not be able to get an appointment until after 1-Jan anyway.

If you begin running a fever or the rash worsens, then you might want to give some thought to going to an urgent care (use an independent facility not hospital owned urgent care) or a physician other than your normal physician so that there's no record that you were diagnosed before the effective date of your insurance.

Under the laws that go into effect on 1-Jan-2014, your insurance company cannot discriminate against you for pre-existing conditions. However, insurance companies find ways around these laws, so it would be safest to ensure that there is no record of testing or a diagnosis before the effective date of your insurance so that there's no basis for denial.

 

[jdcnow]

^ Thanks for that. That's exactly my game plan - treat the rash topically (still confined to my left shoulder and left side of my neck) and try and make it through the next two weeks until January 1st. One of the urgent care/walk-in doctor's offices might be open Jan. 1st - I know Christmas, they're closed. They haven't posted New Years hours yet, but I assume they will, probably, next week. But if not the 1st, then definitely the 2nd, I'll get in.

Plus by the 1st or 2nd, I'll likely get my insurance card in the mail, since the insurance goes into effect Jan. 1st. I'll need it, as I have a lot of medical issues that need immediate attention after the insurance goes into effect.

 

[KaraBulut]

^ Thanks for that. That's exactly my game plan - treat the rash topically (still confined to my left shoulder and left side of my neck) and try and make it through the next two weeks until January 1st. One of the urgent care/walk-in doctor's offices might be open Jan. 1st - I know Christmas, they're closed. They haven't posted New Years hours yet, but I assume they will, probably, next week. But if not the 1st, then definitely the 2nd, I'll get in.

Plus by the 1st or 2nd, I'll likely get my insurance card in the mail, since the insurance goes into effect Jan. 1st. I'll need it, as I have a lot of medical issues that need immediate attention after the insurance goes into effect.

The payers have been a little slow getting out new insurance cards. They've been overwhelmed with enrollments from the Affordable Care Act. Some of the bigger companies like Cigna have lookup pages on their websites where you can enter identifying information and find your policy number. You can also call them but I've heard that the wait times on the call-in numbers have been 20-30 minutes.

If you don't have a family doctor, this is probably a good time to get one. If you selected a platinum plan, it's probably a PPO or open plan, so you can go on the insurance company website and search for a primary care physician and make an appointment. A lot of physicians only see new patients on certain days (if they are accepting new patients).

Otherwise as you mentioned, you can use a walk-in clinic (some of the larger clinic systems have walk-in appointments with nurse practitioners that are quick and easy). The illogical way that this stuff works is that once you have insurance, you'll get in-network discounts which will save you a considerable amount of money. You'll still be in your deductible but it will just cost you the copay.

 

[jdcnow]

^ My platinum plans are all Zero-Deductible. All I'll pay is the copay, probably.

 

[KaraBulut]

^ My platinum plans are all Zero-Deductible. All I'll pay is the copay, probably.

Good choice.