Lymph nodes, or lymph glands, are small rounded organs that are part of the immune system. Their function is to fight infections anywhere in the body. There are roughly 500 to 600 lymph nodes in the human body, but most of them are located so deep inside the body that they cannot be felt from the outside. While there are some obvious symptoms of lymph node cancer, a diagnosis should always be made by a medical doctor.
Step 1
Palpate the lymph notes that are easiest to feel. They are located in the underarms, upper neck, and upper groin area, inside the thighs. Cancer can cause at least one of these areas to feel swollen. Typically, there is no pain associated with cancer in the lymph nodes. If the lymph node area is so enlarged that it can be detected from the outside just by looking at it, it is usually not a sign of a lymph node cancer.
Step 2
Ask yourself if you have had any infections such as the flu recently. Such infectious diseases can cause lymph nodes to swell, and it may take some time for them to return to their normal sizes. If the swelling of the lymph nodes is caused by an infection, you typically feel some pain when touching them.
Step 3
Weigh yourself. A common sign of lymph node cancer is sudden weight loss even when the patient has not been dieting.
Step 4
Measure your temperature. You will most likely have a fever if you have a lymph node cancer.
Step 5
Ask yourself if you are feeling more fatigued than you've felt in the past. A common sign of lymph node cancer is feeling extremely tired and weak even when you have slept enough and have not done any physically tiring activities.
Step 6
Examine your bed clothes and yourself in the morning, to determine whether you have suffered from extensive night sweats. This is quite common among lymph node cancer patients and damp bed clothes and clammy skin can indicate this occurrence.
Step 7
Visit your doctor. Only a physician can determine if you have a lymph node cancer. He is likely to take some blood and urine tests to make sure that you do not have any infections. He may also use such painless imaging techniques as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to detect the possible cancer. If he detects something suspicious, he may also take a biopsy, or a small tissue sample to determine if you have cancer.
Tips and Warnings
- Lymph node cancer may not always start in these areas, but can spread there from other body parts. If this is the case, your symptoms may be quite different. For example, if the primary cancer is in your brain, you may suffer from headaches and nausea.
- There are many lymph nodes in the body that are located so deep that you cannot feel them through the skin. Thus, even if you cannot feel any swollen lymph nodes, it does not necessarily mean that there is no cancer in those nodes that are located deeper inside your body. Many signs of lymph node cancer, such as feeling fatigue, or having night sweats, are also common to many other diseases. Thus, these signs alone are not enough to conclude that you have a lymph node cancer.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Thermometer
- Doctors contact information
