Enlarged Sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck

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Coupe35
Coupe35 Member Posts: 45
edited March 2014 in Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin) #1
I've had NHL for 15 years. The last 10 years the left side of my neck, the Sternocleidomastoid muscle is getting bigger than the right side. I've had scans and nothing shows up. The doctor can not give me a reason why. It's for sure not a lymph node under the muscle pushing it up. It's the whole muscle. Can lymphoma effect a muscle like that.

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  • yesyes2
    yesyes2 Member Posts: 591
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    Hi Coupe 35,
    I have been
    Hi Coupe 35,

    I have been meaning to reply to your question and am sorry for the delay. I also have an enlarged Sternocleidomastoid muscle on the right side of my neck only. Mine is a result of having spasmatic torticollis, unsure of spelling, which developed shortly after radiation treatment for breast cancer. In short my brain keeps the muscles on the right side of my neck taunt at all times, they never relax. This caused my Sternocleidomastoid to also remain taunt and over develope. My neck causes me a lot of pain and discomfort as it never is relaxed and if it gets too tensed I will tremor. The only doctor that ever diagnosed it was a neurologist and it can be treated with medications, which I do not take and/or Botox injection. During my RCHOP chemo for NHL the steroids did help to relax the muscles somewhat, far less pain. I am much more comfortable looking to the right and have limited mobility especially when needing to turn my neck to the left. For me it's like having a stiff neck 27/7. Which it is. The other name for this condition is wry neck. And there are web sites for torticollis and on line support groups which I havn't used.

    I hope my experience has given you some food for thought. Perhaps this could be your problem too. You didn't say if you had any discomfort or loss of range of motion so just wondering if you have experienced any of that? I hope you find an answer soon.

    Blessings to you,
    Leslie

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