Saturday, worried

[cleolinda]

Okay, so, first of all, I've found a hard round lump under my chin, back near my throat--the middle of my chin, so it's not a lymph node--that's about the size of a dime. It's under a layer of skin and fat, shut up so I can't see it, but it's obviously pretty deep, so it's not some kind of blemish. It didn't hurt until I started prodding at it, at which point it started to get a little surly. Someone suggested it might be a cyst, which I like better than my instantaneous self-diagnosis of Fatal Chin Cancer, although no one suggested this until after I'd lost a night of sleep worrying about it. So. Short of running to a doctor (and we all know how often I manage that) and demanding that s/he examine and/or remove my Chin Cancer NOW, how can I figure out what it is and what, if anything, can or should be done about it? Like, is it likely to be a cyst? Will it go away by itself? Can I stop writing out my last will and testament?

(You laugh, but after Dooce's experiences with cancerous growths, I'm not trifling with this shit. I'd rather run to a doctor and get it removed now than get told a year from now, "Well, you have two weeks to live, but if we'd caught it sooner...")

Second of all: What ever happened to diarist.net? I get faithful solicitations from their mailing list as to whether I would like to unsubscribe or not, but I don't think the site itself has updated in three years.


As 9/11 Nears, How Much Tribute Is Enough?

Full list of Hugo winners from Making Light, which now has one in the family.

At Neil Gaiman's: "An at-a-glance guide to spotting things like walls and me and giraffes."

Google's company Zelig.

Texas town wonders if mythical chupacabra was found.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: Behind the Hero's Cape.

CBS Claims Advertisers Like 'Kid Nation.' You know, despite potential human rights violations.

Jessica Alba is perfect? Even more so than Marilyn Monroe?

Knightley says focus on the films, not my figure. " 'I'm my worst critic,' she said. 'If you really want me to cut my part to pieces, I absolutely can and I don't want to get to a day when I can't.' " This may sound like the usual celeb false modesty, unless you've listened to her commentary on the first POTC DVD, in which she mocks her own forty different pouts.

De Palma's 'Redacted' stuns Venice. "Halfway between documentary and fiction, 'Redacted' draws on soldiers' home-made war videos, blogs and journals and footage posted on YouTube, reflecting changes in the way the media cover the war. 'In Vietnam, when we saw the images and the sorrow of the people we were traumatizing and killing, we saw the soldiers wounded and brought back in body bags. We see none of that in this war,' De Palma said.... The film's title refers to how, according to De Palma, mainstream American newspapers and television channels are failing to tell the true story of the war by keeping the most graphic images of the conflict away from public opinion."

trailer_spot: Assassination of Jesse James, Michael Clayton, Mist, One Missed Call, 3:10 to Yuma.

Brosnan and Jolie for 'Thomas Crown' Sequel.

Clive Owen Q & A for Shoot 'Em Up.

MPAA Approves Posters with "Testicular Fixation."

From Soapsud: Christian Bale is a lying liar who lies. Hee. "When it comes to the real Christian Bale, he prefers people not have the straight story. He cheerfully admits to lying to the media, peppering his anecdotes with embellishments and inventions to keep himself entertained during repetitive junkets. When asked if there has ever been a good profile written about him, he responds, 'If you're meaning a truthful one, I would never let you know, because I have no desire for people to get their facts right about me.' Will he share a couple of his favorite fabrications about himself? 'That would also be revealing what were the truthful ones.' "

Comments

[texansasha.livejournal.com]

Not to be alarming, but you should still check it out. My fiance used to work with the American Cancer Society and said that it's always better to be safe than sorry.

[cabell.livejournal.com]

Yeah, speaking as someone who spent two weeks prancing around on what turned out to be not a sprain or bruise but a DVT, I always advise people to go to the doctor as soon as possible. If it's serious, they'll catch it as early as possible, and if it's not, you'll feel better about a doctor telling you so than any number of us, right? :p

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

It's almost certainly one of the eleventy billion varieties of totally harmless cysts. One thing you can try is applying a hot, damp cloth to it several times a day and seeing if it goes away. Don't squeeze at it or anything like that.

There's a bit more about the wide variety of "lumps under your skin" here: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/cysts-lumps-bumps

I'd go to the doctor if it bothers you; otherwise, it should go away at some point.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank God. I'm going to try to go Tuesday, just because I want someone to look at it and possibly give me a shot of some kind, because it just *annoys* me to have something there that wasn't there before.

Also, thanks for that link--I've had a weird, painless bump on my leg that suddenly appeared last summer that's almost certainly a dermatofibroma.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how many ways our bodies come up with to give us lumps, eh? :)

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I think this is probably right, but PLEASE get it checked out. I have a cyst on my chest that's like that, but it's slowly going away with time. Still, these things are not to be played around with.

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

ditto. Please still consider getting it checked.

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

One thing you could try (until you can get to a doctor, that is) is a hot flax seed poultice. I've had quite a few lumps on various parts of my body, and flaxseed has never failed to bring them down and/or make them less painful until I could get to a doctor. They're gooey and slimy, but I swear by them.

(Mustard works well too, but I mostly use it for infections.)

[elsajeni.livejournal.com]

Wow, neat link. I have a couple of little Mystery Bumps of my own (which I've had since childhood and have been assured are harmless and friendly) and I've always wondered about them. Looks like they're probably dermatofibromas.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

P. S. "It's bothering me/I'm worried about it" is 100% enough reason to go to a doctor.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

The Alba story is, sadly, a press release based on disingenuous interpretation of data, according to the lead researcher (http://www.badscience.net/?p=520). Not that she's not without her charms, though.

And yes, have someone look at your chin. Can't be too careful anymore. Your well-being is not a trifle. My f-list has too many stories that have gone from annoying to life-threatening all too quickly. Take care.

[rhodynne.livejournal.com]

I had a lump like that on my arm. Mine was a (phonetic) sub-a-shuos (sebasious? sebesious?)cyst and they're fine forever unless one of them decides to become infected. :-) My doc said that almost never happens, however. I had to have mine cut out because of the meds I take, I can't be cured of an infection until I stop the meds, it takes 6 weeks, etc. ad nauseum.
My dad lived with one for a dozen years, until something else entirely got him.

[graydown.livejournal.com]

Sebaceous (http://www.ecureme.com/atlas/data/sebaceous_cyst550_ab.htm)

[rhodynne.livejournal.com]

Thank you.
My spelin rilly suks.
:-D

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain. :)

so....possibly tmi or just nasty, but...

[discogravy.livejournal.com]

obviously less of a possiblity/problem for a woman, but I had the same thing turn out to be four ingrown hairs (verily, they came out of my neck fully formed like folicular Athenas. it was creepy as hell.)

Re: so....possibly tmi or just nasty, but...

[edda.livejournal.com]

"Folicular Athena" is now the name of my new all-girl retro-electronica band.

[kotszok.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna throw [lipoma] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipoma) or [atheroma] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheroma) (neither of which are fatal) at you. :) Hope it's nothing serious!!!!!!

[stringertheory.livejournal.com]

I vote for going to the doctor. Better safe than sorry.

Re: movie posters

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

The MPAA is ridiculous. I work in a movie theater, and we have received posters from studios that my manager, or sometimes even the corporate office instructs us not to display because they are inappropriate, and we would get complaints.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

Well I have benign lumps all over the damn place any kind of cyst you can think of I have at least one. Our medical does not cover them unless they squish something important as they are cosmetic.
Would your medical cover having it looked at?
If it is acne cyst or ingrown hairs they reveal themselves in about a week or two. No pain or infection then I would see what it does but don't play with it, hard to resist I know.

[tifaria.livejournal.com]

I had a lump like that on my neck last summer that turned out to be some sort of bug bite. I thought maybe it would go away, but it just got worse and worse until I couldn't move my neck from the pain and ended up going to the doctor to get the icky stuff drained out. I still have a scar there that looks like.. well, like something bit me.

Which is my way of saying that I'd go to the doctor rather than try and figure out what it is on your own.

Also: The chupacabra story kinda freaks me out. I've always been irrationally afraid of it since I was a kid.

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

"Best Professional Editor (Short Form): Gordon Van Gelder (F&SF)"

I knew Gordon in college (although he was a few years ahead of me). He was the co-head of our science fiction club and editor of our SF magazine, "Infinity."

Thus ... I have been published by a Hugo-winning editor! Sorta.

[elbales]

Gah. Reading ohnotheydidnt always makes me feel slimy afterward. Hateful people.

It's good you're going to see a doctor.

[mehinda.livejournal.com]

It's probably a cyst or (I'm not entirely sure if I ascertained its location) perhaps an abscess (maybe of the salivary gland)?

Either way, you should get it checked out and the sooner the better.

[junipersgame.livejournal.com]

I've got the same thing going on right now, with the hard lump under the chin, half-way between neck and chin. My doctor said it was a lymphnode, though. Of course, that was back in early July, and I've been on three courses of antibiotics since then to kick whatever 'infection' is freaking my body out. *scowl* They're thinking of doing an ultrasound soon, if they still can't get it to go away.

I wouldn't rush to the doctor about it, but I would go in for a visit within the next week or two, if you can. Always better to get stuff like that checked out.

[deathwatchlove.livejournal.com]

I have about the same thing on my chin/neck/whatever. My doctor prodded it for a while, shrugged at me, and said, "I guess it's just a lymphnode." Doc didn't give me antibiotics because my lymphnodes being swollen doesn't necessarily indicate being sick (at any given time, about half of my lymphnodes are swollen).

[kinkydork.livejournal.com]

i get cysts around my neck/ear areas fairly often, and i am pretty cancer-phobic, but my awesome doctor says the only reason i notice them is because i'm not fat, lol. he also said that he's had one for like 25 years that has never gotten any larger or had any adverse effects (mine usually go away in a matter of days/weeks, though). it's always good to get things checked out, but it's likely just a cyst, and warm compresses tend to help.

[phantomess05.livejournal.com]

Go to the doctor, I found a lump once (guess where?!!!) and it was just a cyst, but it's safer to be sure and get it removed then to have that worry hanging over you.

Hope things get better for you.

~The Phantomess~

[word-herder.livejournal.com]

I have a cyst on the back of my head. It waxes and wanes in size. When it hurts, the doctor told me to apply heat to it, which does help; Advil also helps because when it hurts, it's slightly inflamed usually. Someday, when I have a little more money, I'll have it removed because I've managed to clip it with my flat iron a few times, and that, as you can imagine, hurts like a bitch.

One major tell-tale sign that it's a cyst is it's--how do I put this?--consistency. Does it feel compact but not hard? As in, if you push on it, does it yield a little, like it's slightly squishy? If so, it's probably a cyst.

I think that cysts themselves are nothing but annoyances, though their location can cause problems. It never hurts to have it checked out.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

For the lump, I agree it's most likely a cyst, for which the best treatment is hot compresses and not messing with it, but go to the doctor if that will set your mind at ease.

Note that unless you have a biopsy done, your doctor's opinion isn't going to be any more 'valid' than that of your online friends - having an M.D. doesn't give a person x-ray eyes or the ability to smell the difference between healthy cells and cancerous ones; a subcutaneous lump is still just a subcutaneous lump. Biopsies and other tests that might give you a definitive answer are expensive, so perhaps you'd want to try the compresses for a couple weeks first.

More likely, your doctor will want to give you antibiotics. I'd Just Say No to that; hot compresses will deal with a local infection perfectly well, without destroying all your beneficial intestinal flora and helping any 'bad germs' in your body evolve to be antibiotic-resistant.

If you increase your intake of iodine, vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids, it may well prevent both cysts and worse problems. I'd suggest you buy yourself a bottle of Carlson's Cod Liver Oil and a bottle of kelp tablets and start taking them as directed. If they don't help, at least they won't harm you, which is more than can be said for most of the 'treatments' promulgated by the medical establishment.

As for the so-called chupacabra... sheesh, do people pay no attention at all to their high-school science courses? Look at the jaw! A creature with a jaw-structure like that is not capable of 'sucking' blood or anything else, any more than an ordinary dog could drink through a straw. Lapping blood, sure - the same as any other canine could do - but what of it? Yeah, wild or feral canids will kill domestic animals when they can, but this is hardly the Stuff of Legend.

I agree with the vet: the thing is a dog, or a dog/coyote cross. As for the "purplish-grey skin"... duh, hello, the thing is dead and has been kept in a freezer; we would turn a similarly-unatttractive color under the same circumstances.

[scarolinagrl.livejournal.com]

As for the 9/11 stuff, it is hard to determine exactly what is called for six years later...I'm a librarian in a large public system and just yesterday put up a huge display of 9/11 related materials with nice "Remember" signage, but I'm wondering if any of it will actually check-out...time will tell.

[sorchar.livejournal.com]

Salivary gland, maybe?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah... Roger Ebert has/had cancer of, I believe, the salivary glands, and that's why he had to have part of his jaw removed. Aaaaaand that's why I couldn't sleep last night.

[sorchar.livejournal.com]

Well, salivary glands tend to get lumpy for no good reason, too. Happened to my mom a few times. Here's hoping it's something unserious.

[edda.livejournal.com]

I'm with most everybody else: it's probably nothing, but best to have it looked at if it's worrying you. I'm sure you're going to be fine, though. *hugs*

And OMG CHUPACABRA WTF. Remember that weird thing they found in Russia or somewhere that you posted a link to a while back? That REALLY ugly dog-thing? Maybe it has relatives. Urgh.

CHICKENS DRAINED OF BLOOD OMG.

[anolinde.livejournal.com]

In regards to your chin thing, I think I have one of those, too - a small, hard, round lump that's underneath the skin and doesn't hurt until I prod at it. Did you ever find out what yours was?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, I just mentioned it yesterday and haven't seen anyone yet, but someone up there in the comments left a Web MD link that suggests it's a skin cyst. I'm still going to have it checked out, though.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yup. Go see doctor. Doctor will tell you it's nothing harmful, most likely, but then you can get on with not worrying. ^_^

[syneblue.livejournal.com]

I had pretty much exactly the same lumpy problem as you around four years back. I had this hard, pea-sized lump of SOMETHING underneath the skin under my ear (...weird place). After about ten month of it just hanging around, not hurting or being visible, or really anything, I went in and had the doctor cut it out.
But really, you want to get your doctor to look at it, because 1) to be safe, and 2) if you get cysts, you're prone to get cysts, and while most of the time they're just weird little bumps that won't do anything, they can get infected and cause pain or swelling if you get a big one, or one near a joint.
A friend of mine had one on his tailbone that he ignored, so of course it got infected and he couldn't sit down for three weeks.

[bigeyedrabbit.livejournal.com]

I am with you on the instantaneous self-diagnosis of Fatal Cancer -- my skin has a tendency to go completely haywire from time to time, and whenever it does, I look at what I know is probably a wart and go, "SKIN CANCER SKIN CANCER SKIN CANCER!!!!"

That said, I second everyone else who said it can't hurt anything to have it looked at.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Dude, that is so totally a dog head!

Er, the chupacabra, not the thing on your neck. Get that looked at.

Although, I suppose it could be a dog head, too. You never know. Does it woof at all?

[jackieocean.livejournal.com]

I had a cyst under my chin, kind of where the bottom of your chin meets your throat, when I was a kid. It was called a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst. They had to put me under to get rid of it, but it was a simple procedure and I was left with only a very faint scar.

Since you're reluctant to go to a doctor, start looking up info online and see if you can find anything that might explain it.