Swollen Axillary Lymph Nodes

todd121
todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
in Kidney Cancer #1

Has anybody heard of RCC spreading to axillary lymph nodes (underarm  lymph nodes)? Would this show up on CT scans? I'm taking everolimus as an adjuvant therapy and have been NED since my kidney was removed in December. I've been having sinusitis/rhinitis and cold like symptoms which I attribute to the everolimus. Those symptoms have been there for about 5 weeks, since I started everolimus along with nausea, fatigue, cough. I'm also getting some tender spots under my tongue.

Starting about a week or two ago I noticed swollen lymph nodes under my left arm. I will see my doctor on Wednesday, but I was wondering if RCC could spread from my kidney to underarm lymph nodes? Has anybody ever heard of that?

Thanks,

Todd

Comments

  • Texas_wedge
    Texas_wedge Member Posts: 2,798
    #2
    Armpit nodes

    RCC is probably the most unpredictable of all cancers so 'never say never' is a good watchword, but I've never heard of it, Todd. (If you also had breast cancer then it would be highly likely but I gather you only have RCC?)

    Although it's 12 years old, this paper is a helpful guide and I'm sure the spread patterns of RCC won't have changed much in the interim:

    http://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10.2214/ajr.177.3.1770653

    Look in particular at the section below Fig 3 where you'll read:

    Distant Metastases


    Renal carcinoma typically metastasizes to the following distant sites, listed in order of descending frequency: lung (Figs. 4 and 5) and mediastinum, bone (Fig. 6A,6B), liver (Figs. 7 and 8A,8B), contralateral kidney or adrenal gland or both (Fig. 9), and brain [6, 7].




  • rae_rae
    rae_rae Member Posts: 300 Member
    #3
    Texas_wedge said:

    Armpit nodes

    RCC is probably the most unpredictable of all cancers so 'never say never' is a good watchword, but I've never heard of it, Todd. (If you also had breast cancer then it would be highly likely but I gather you only have RCC?)

    Although it's 12 years old, this paper is a helpful guide and I'm sure the spread patterns of RCC won't have changed much in the interim:

    http://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10.2214/ajr.177.3.1770653

    Look in particular at the section below Fig 3 where you'll read:

    Distant Metastases


    Renal carcinoma typically metastasizes to the following distant sites, listed in order of descending frequency: lung (Figs. 4 and 5) and mediastinum, bone (Fig. 6A,6B), liver (Figs. 7 and 8A,8B), contralateral kidney or adrenal gland or both (Fig. 9), and brain [6, 7].




    I get swollen armpit nodes
    I get swollen armpit nodes from time to time, usually they are caused by being run down or ill, which could be your case. I had mine checked last year with an ultrasound and was also told that typically cancer would be hard and painless (but not always!) Still worth having checked out.
  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #4
    rae_rae said:

    I get swollen armpit nodes
    I get swollen armpit nodes from time to time, usually they are caused by being run down or ill, which could be your case. I had mine checked last year with an ultrasound and was also told that typically cancer would be hard and painless (but not always!) Still worth having checked out.

    Thanks

    This helped me feel better. I did show them to my oncologist. He wasn't very concerned, but he did order an ultrasound to be on the safe side. I'll probably have it done next week.

    Interestingly, I have to go to the women's health center to have an ultrasound of my arm pit. It seems this procedure is more often done for breast cancer patients than any others, so that's where they do it.

    Todd

  • Texas_wedge
    Texas_wedge Member Posts: 2,798
    #5
    todd121 said:

    Thanks

    This helped me feel better. I did show them to my oncologist. He wasn't very concerned, but he did order an ultrasound to be on the safe side. I'll probably have it done next week.

    Interestingly, I have to go to the women's health center to have an ultrasound of my arm pit. It seems this procedure is more often done for breast cancer patients than any others, so that's where they do it.

    Todd

    Breast cancer

    Todd, I'm not wanting to start a hare but that way they can also exclude breast cancer as an explanation.  About 10% of breast cancer patients are male, if my memory serves me.  Anyway, here's hoping you have nothing to worry about.

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