My lymph nodes are swollen, does this mean that i have cancer?

i went to the doctor because my lymph nodes in my neck are very swollen, he sent me to get blood work done and now i am afraid that i have cancer. does having swollen lymph nodes mean cancer or can it just be something else? please help me.

Your lymph nodes swell up whenever your body has any kind of infection, because all the waste from your white blood cells needs to be drained. So whenever they do swell it's a good idea to get some tests done, but doesn't neccessarily mean it's something serious. Best of luck xx

no. very unikly its cancer.

It can mean alot of noncancerous things. Try not to stress. Good luck.

Happens to me about twice a year..usually just an infection treated with Anti-Biotics..

Don't jump to conclusions. Wait for the test results. Statistically, your chances are excellent that it will not be cancer. It could be many other things including mononucleosis or a simple infection. Good luck. :-)

no definitely not. there are soo many other reasons they may be swollen. dont worry :-)

Swollen lymph nodes can mean a lot of things. It can mean you are sick with a cold. Sick with bronchitis or pneumonia, Epstein Barr which is a low immune system, many many things. It also can mean cancer. There are many people like me that have swollen lymph nodes on a daily or weekly basis. I have Epstein-Barr but it is treatable. It is nothing more than you are tired alot. I suspect that your doctor is just taking precautions and it's not necessarily going to mean you have cancer only.

it generally just means your body is fighting off an infection of some kind

It means you most likely have an infection of some type. The lymphatic system is like a storage facility for defeated germs. When you are battling an infection these nodes get overloaded and swell. You should've asked the doctor for more info before leaving the office. This is often hard to do because the doctor is in and out quickly and many times you don't think to ask until later. If you stop and think you'll probably come up with the answer of what has made you sick. Any virus' going around work or school? Any relatives with mono or strep-throat? Ever had the mumps and were recently exposed? Was that creepy person on the bus with the disgusting hack setting closer than you were comfortable with? You've probably just picked up a nasty bug so calm down and have a big bowl of chicken soup and take comfort in the fact that you can call into work/school sick and have a doctor backing you up on it.

well as far as i know the lymph nodes are the ones that constitute the body's defence against infection, so there's a chance you may have a mild infection or something, but not necessarily cancer...just to be safe you should get checked out

Chance are it means that your immune system is working as it should. When lymph nodes are swollen - it means your body is fighting infection of some sort. I am sure your doctor is trying to find out what the specific cause is in order to prescribe the correct course of antibiotics. If he or she suspected cancer they would have done a biopsy. Blood work would not be recommended to test for cancer unless they were checking PSA levels for prostate problems. Since you are female -I don't think you have to worry about that. Relax - your doctor is just being thorough.

It can mean any number of things. You might have swollen lymph nodes because your body is fighting an infection, such as strep throat, or a lung infection. It is very unlikely it is cancer.

Lymph nodes swell whenever the body aquires an infection as a type of defense mechanism. Lymph nodes also swell when you have lymphoma, a type of cancer. In your case the doctor has probably ordered blood tests as a precaution.

I am glad that you went to the doctor and got your blood work done. If the blood tests come back and you are fine and they remain swollen you must get a second opnion... My sister had this same thing and her blood work came back fine and so she just thought it was nothing and three months later she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Please don't put it off if they remain swollen. It could be a matter of life or death. Good luck to you and I hope it is just something as small as an infection that could be cured with anti biotics.....

It sounds exactly what I suffer from. Lympheodema, it means that your lymph glands swell up and you body too. It also means that your drainage is hard to drain because of your Lymph glands. If you are worried about it have a word with your Doctor, but rest assured it is not cancer.

There are many reasons for lymph nodes to swell. Keep on top of your doctors until you get the answers you need. I started out with only one swollen node at the base of my neck. If it's nothing, fine, but you need to know for sure. If it's something bad, there are GOOD treatments out there, so please don't be afraid.
Check this site for info and to see if you have any other symptoms. [night sweats? itching?]
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls
I had loads of symptoms but didn't know anything until, finally, a diagnosis was made.
Best wishes