I chose this forum as I thought you would be persons most informative that might be able to help me decide. Thank you.
Healthy wellness check/physical — except I showed doctor which she confirmed and is concerned about — slight swelling which has been sort of lengthwise above/atop of my left clavicle, also seems near throat area where clavicle ends there. Been there awhile — no pain — probably several months.
I did have COVID-19 2–3 years ago and recovered. (I mention since I know that it can persist in symptoms.) I also have a very strange laugh now — if I start laughing hard — the sound is very different from ever before. I have never smoked.
My doctor is recommending some type of scan — has suggested an ultrasound — and is open to what I share about which scan to do. I was wondering if an ultrasound, a CT, or one of those MRI body scans for cancer would be best — between all 3 — to diagnose or help diagnose — and most importantly to me, to determine whether it is cancer or not most efficiently. (Very long distance to places to get scans due to where I live — closest 2-hour round trip and a city which much more in medical offerings/services a 7-hour round trip.)
Thus, I'd like to get the scan most likely to at least and first determine whether it could be a type of cancer. Reading online, I certainly have read of both benign causes and serious. All other checks are clear for me during exam… only this swelling (and odd laugh now for months).
Wondering which scan to do at this point since subsequent scans will be difficult due to distance and life circumstances — so for a first scan, interested in your opinion as to which one might provide the most information (especially to rule out cancer as a cause or to let us know if we need to do more like biopsy… trying to avoid doing one type scan only to be told to go do a different type, for example.)
Thank you, in advance, for your opinion. Open to experiences/opinions/and any other suggestions I have not considered.
Reply # - October 8, 2024, 03:10 PM
Hi Bluebird, Welcome to…
Hi Bluebird, Welcome to GRACE. I'm sorry you're going through this scare and hope it's just inflammation or from an infection you didn't know you had.
A CT would be the most typical scan for looking at a suspicious lump above the clavicle. It's very possible a supraclavicular lymph node is swollen which may be why your doc wants it checked. Ask your doc about the reasoning in an ultrasound instead of a CT and why they prefer the ultrasound. There may be more to it than what we suppose. If there is still suspicion then a biopsy could be the next move. You said the larger hospitals are much further than the one you would go to so getting results and moving on to a biopsy on the same day may not be feasible for the center you go to but it's worth asking.
Make sure they understand the importance of doing as much per visit as possible. The larger centers are better than the smaller ones but it may just be an ask away. There are resources too that may help people with travel issues. There should be a social worker on duty at the scan center who can help with travel-related issues. Look for and ask for help in your area. Sometimes it takes some digging but resources exist that aren't always obvious. Once you hook onto a good one it becomes easier to work within our not as good as it needs to be system. I know this list of videos is long and most aren't relevant but there's tons of info that everyone should know, cancer or not.
It's often helpful if you go to your next visit with info in hand. Mayo clinic and Cleveland clinic have excellent online info about workups and diagnosing procedures. Copy or share those resources with your doc during your conversation. It's kind of like having a specialist quoting standard of care for very specific situations like swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes.
Keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask further questions.
Take care,
Janine
I joined GRACE as a caregiver for my husband who had a Pancoast tumor, NSCLC stage III in 2009. He had curative chemo/rads then it was believed he had a recurrence in the spine/oligometastasis that was radiated. He's 10 years out from treatment.