Swollen Supraclavical Lymph Nodes and Spot on Mammogram

geniegenie2

Hello all,

About six weeks ago I found a sore lump above my left collarbone.  It hurt, but it seemed to go down. About 2 weeks later out of nowhere if got swollen again and was very painful.  I went to the urgent care, thinking of course there was going to be a quick fix.  The doctors eyes popped out, I could tell this was not going to be good. Went to my pcp had blood work and u/s.  Blood work was good u/s showed 2 swollen supraclavical lymph nodes.  Pcp sent me to hematologist, she sent me for a ct scan.  Ct Scan showed the same thing and a spot on my right breast.  Went for mammogram and breast u/s today and they confirmed what the ct scan showed and when the radiologist spoke with me he recommended a biopsy.

So, my question is, has anyone had supraclavical lymph swollen in relation to b/c?

I am a nervous nellie but I am trying to better.  Thinking I am more nervous about the tests then the results.

Thanks in advance.

Genie

alligans

Yes and no.  It may be related and it may not be related, however, swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes are nothing to play around with.  When these nodes get swollen, doctors take it very seriously. 

Do you know what your BI-RADs is?  This may be helpful for you since you haven't had the biopsy done yet.  Anything from 4+ needs to be biopsied.  Do you know how the shape of the lesion/lump was described?  If it was described as spiculated, then there is a pretty good chance that the breast lump and the supraclavicular nodes are related.  If it's described as oval or round then they may not be related.

 If the biopsy comes back benign, you may want to get the supraclavicular nodes excisionally biopsied to see what's causing them to be swollen.  To be honest with you, swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes are usually a sign of malignancy but not always.  It's just that when these particular lymph nodes get swollen, there is a high chance of it being related to some type of cancer but not 100% of the time.  The reason of the high chance is because of the way that the lymphatic system works and drains which I cannot explain in detail in regards to these particular nodes.  Lymph nodes can get swollen from many different things such as infections, colds, autoimmune diseases, viruses, and possbily allergies and acne.  They are supposed to swell...it's their job and is a normal function of your body.  It's a reaction which can be benign or malignant.  Basically, anything that cause upset your immune system can enlarge various nodes.  The location usually helps to identify the underlying cause.  For example, when you get strep throat, it's very common for you neck lymph nodes to swell up because they produce lymphocytes (lymph cells) to kill of the infection.  The lymph nodes are the garbage pails of your body.  The pick up the trash and get rid of it with their powerful lymphocyte cells.  When there is a malignancy associated with the swollen lymph nodes, the nodes are swollen because the cancer cells are getting stuck in there while youre body tries to kill them off because they are seen as invaders by the good immune cells.  They get swollen because your lymphatic system is reproducing the good cells at a fast rate (sort of like creating a good army of fighters) to kill off the invaders (cancer cells).  Cancer cells may also be reproducing in the lymph nodes. 

How do these lymph nodes feel to you?  Are they soft and squishy (good thing), feel rubbery (I just had another member finally tell me what rubbery means...sort of like the bouncy balls that come out of vending machines), or stone hard (bad thing).  Do they move around (usually a good thing) or are they stuck to the underlying tissue (bad thing).  How big do they feel?  I know that anything above 1 cm that persists for a while should be investigated further.  However, swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes usually warrant immediate biopsy regardless of the size.

I know quite a bit about the lymphatic system because I've been dealing with swollen ones in my neck for a while but they aren't related to breast cancer as I do not have it. 

I really do not want to upset you, just educate you so that if the lump in your breast is benign you will have some idea on how you may wish to proceed with the lymph nodes.  I always expect honestly from people and don't like sugar coated stuff so I hope that I'm doing you a favor in explaining this.  If you're on here, you're most likely Googling so this is what I personally know about these particular nodes in a nut shell.  Good luck and push for the biopsies.  It sounds like seeing the hematologist is the first right step.   

geniegenie2

Thanks so much for you wonderful reply.  I am having the lymph node biopsy on this coming Monday.  I am still waiting for the breast biopsy to be scheduled.  In answer to your question, the lymph nodes are too far down to feel.  They are swollen and pushing up the muscle and fatty area making it swollen.  So I cant tell you the way they feel

I did see the area in my breast from what the radiologist showed me and of course I am not a dr but it did look like it did not have a definate shape.  I was by myself and did not know the right questions to ask. So when I speak to my hematologist I will be better educated.

Thanks for your input!

Vidyaansh

any result on the biopisy

marie5890

Vidyaansh, hello and welcome.

This thread is almost 7 years old and it doesn't look like Genie ever came back so hopefully it was good news

Vidyaansh

I got a subclavian mass which is suspicious for malignancy..will get confirmed after biopsy but docs are sure about it..any person had this if so pls tell me why would be the approac