Hey, I'm sorry to be such a bother on this board again, but I can't seem to find an answer to my questions elsewhere. Exactly how accurate is a CT scan? More than that...if I can feel something quite noticeable in my neck, but it doesn't show up on the CT scan, does that mean that it is nothing? My CT scan from a while ago reported multile mildly enlarged bilateral lymph nodes (with well-defined borders and suggested as being reactive in origin), but I feel like I have more than just that on my windpipe, like an actual mass of something. But, yet again, the CT scan shows that other than my swollen lymph nodes, I don't have any other abnormal areas in my neck. If I can noticeably feel something in my neck, shouldn't it show up on the CT scan (with an IV contrast) as abnormal if it is something bad? And I've heard varying responses as to what size will show up on a CT scan...2 mm or 6 mm?

I also thought that I would mention that I am finally meeting with my oncologist on November 16 to schedule an excisional biopsy of one of the nodes. He says that I have no cancer in my head or neck, which I'm assuming means that there is no primary cancer that can be seen on the CT scan, so that's definitely good news, and he assured me that lymphoma also doesn't present this way with bilateral swellings without other nasty symptoms. I think he suggested a biopsy just to make me happy because he knows how anxious and nervous I am about this. His suggested verdict at the moment is a viral infection (which is apparently chronic), due to the fact that I have nodes on both sides of my neck, my WBC is still slightly elevated after 4 months, and blood tests also indicate that I have an inflammation somewhere. I'm just worried because the nodes are kind of hard and painless. But one has grown while the other hasn't, so I find that odd. And the one that hasn't grown literally popped up overnight. Well, I guess I'll find out soon what is going on with me. Thank you everyone, for being so supportive of me, and I wish you the best of luck for your journeys.