It Is Not Lymphoma, But What Is It?

I got really good news, but it is also a little bittersweet at the same time. On the 11th, I saw my oncologist, armed with the blood test results, that stated:

“Localized Enlarged Lymph Nodes” “There is no flow immunophenotypic evidence of a B or T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Hodgkin lymphoma, some large cell lymphomas, and non-hematopoietic tumors cannot be excluded by flow cytometry”

And the ultrasound and the biopsy results. My doctor came in and told me and Mrs. Average that it is not lymphoma, however, the lymph nodes are “reactive” to something and they don’t know what that “something” is. With that being said, I will need to have ultrasounds of my lymph nodes every three months for the foreseeable future and possibly random biopsies.

I saw my Rheumatologist on the 13th and she agreed with the results, but we don’t know why they are reactive, and why are they painful. She said that reactive lymph nodes should not be painful. Also, I can expect to have swollen lymph nodes for the rest of my life (assuming that my Rheumatoid Arthritis doesn’t go into remission). Yea!!!!! just another thing that I need to get used to.

I see my gastroenterologist tomorrow, for a pre-op exam before my endoscopy (sometime in the next few weeks), which is every 6 months currently, due to a cyst on the bile duct in my small intestine that my doctor is concerned about and wants to monitor.