Hi I am curious about a situation I have going on. I was having

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Hi I am curious about a situation I have going on. I was having lunch with my brother in law today and was telling him about a pain I have off and on under my left arm pit. (my brother in law is a general surgeon) After lunch he said let me take a look, he saw nothing out of the way. He orginially said he could not feel any enlarged nodes, upon further feeling around, around the middle of the arm pit where a muscle seems to run he noticed a thickening right there as he put it. He said it did not feel like a lymphoma or another form of metastatic cancer would feel, it was hard enough it was just thick, he said not to worry about it and to let me know if I ran any temp or if it got red, weight loss ect..............he also said the only way to tell if it was something would to be surgically to remove the node and he felt the risk of doing that was greater than any risk that it might be anything serious at this time............Do you agree with this or is there alternatives that would provide a definitive answer short of surgery. Like mri, cat scan, ultra sound or would only confirm something was present and we would be back to point one. Your help would be appreciated.

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Male , Age: 62

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

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Ok, I would tend to agree with him up to the point of saying "not to worry".

It does sound as though something is there. I would go ahead and go to your primary doctor and have him take a look. The mri, ct and such would be a little soon at this point. It may be a swollen tendon,muscle or other. Lymph node do tend to swell and sting. And it sounds as though this is not happening.

A fine needle biopsy before surgery to remove could be done to further DX the item in question if needed.

Best advice is see your own doctor and go from there.

Edited by 4ren6 on July 29 2006 at 12:44 PM

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I do have to agree with 4ren6. I would not worry at this point as it could be related to infection that has caused the lymph node to swell as they act like filters to grab infection and filter it from the body. A needle biopsy before surgery would be something I would highly recommend as in most cases of cancer the lumps are painfree until further advanced so the fact you are having pain in the area sounds more related to a swollen lymph node from infection. They could try a round of antibiotics to see if this helps to shrink the lymph node and the surgery could be more risky then allowing it to try and heal itself. If this does not feel hard and just think then it sounds more related to a swollen lymph node that has become swollen due to infection so I would hold off as in most cases they do heal themselves but a round of antibiotics to be on the safe side would be a better idea then opting for surgery at this time. I hope this will be of help to you.

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I DO HAVE SOME PAIN WHEN I MOVE MY ARM SOMETIMES THIS IS DOWN THE ARM A LITTLE TWO OR THREE INCHES DOESNT APPEAR TO BE RELATED(ACTUALLY NOT SURE) MY CONCERN WAS DO TO THE FACT THAT THE ARM PIT AREA SEEMED SORE TODAY MORE THAN NORMAL LIKE ON THE SURFACE NOT DEEP WOULD NODES CAUSE THAT SYMPTOM ALSO THE DISCOMFORT IS USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH MOVEMENT LIKE REACHING OUT OR RASING MY ARM UP ECT, I DO HAVE TENDERNESS ON THE OUT SIDE OF MY ARM IF PRESSURE IS APPLIED, IT HAS BEEN THAT WAY FOR YEARS SOMETIMES WORSE THAN OTHERS DONT KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE A FACTOR

Edited by Customer (name blocked for privacy) on July 29 2006 at 1:50 PM

Ok, sir with the additional info given I would strongly suggest to go on to your own primary doctor and be given an exam. I would recommend a CT or MRI to rule out any possible tumor or growth. I would suggest a full blood work up with differential as well. Something is going on it appears. You may aso need to check with an orthopedic surgeon as this may be orthopedic in nature as well.

Edited by 4ren6 on July 29 2006 at 2:07 PM

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Reply to 4ren6's Post: IF I MAY ASK WHAT CHANGED YOU OPION, THE DISCOMFORT THAT I TALKED ABOUT ON THE OUTER ARM HAS BEEN THERE FOR YEARS AND I AM PRETTY SURE IS BURSITUS, SORRY CANT SPELL AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT FAMILY DOCTOR SAID IT WAS SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO. IT COMES AND GOES..........THE DISCOMFORT WITH ARM MOVEMENT HAS BEEN PRESENT ABOUT THREE MONTHS ITS A FEW INCHES FROM ARM PIT AND DOES NOT ALWAYS HURT JUST ON OCCASION. LIKE I CAN MOVE IT WHEN I GET UP IN THE MORNING AND IT HURTS JUST A LITTLE AS LIKE WHEN I STRETCH IT UP ABOVE MY HEAD, THEN IF I PUT IT IN THE SAME POSITION A SECOND TIME NO PAIN AT ALL STRANGE ISNT IT. BUT IT DOES NOT FEEL LIKE A LUMP OR NOT.....I ACTUALLY CANT FEEL ANYTHING DIFFERENT FROM ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER. ONLY THE LEFT SIDE ALL THE RIDGES AND MUSCLES SEEM TO BE MORE PRONOUNCED THAN THE RIGHT........AM I NUTS OR IN DENIAL OR WHAT?

The discussion on the pain of the outer arm is what did it on saying check with orthopedic.........your comment of JUST A LITTLE AS LIKE WHEN I STRETCH IT UP ABOVE MY HEAD, This is classic for a torn rotator cup socket. And this may be some of the area your brother in law felt.

My first answer was based solely on your first statement. My follow up is based on your additional info not included in the first. Anything from a growth or tumor to torn rotator cup could also be causing this. Thus the need to get further scans or x-rays.

This needs further testing and your primary can direct you. Blood work should also be done with complete differential.

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