Have Lump Behind Ear, Back Pain And Urge To Urinate. History Of Degeneration. Could It Be Cancer?

Posted on Tue, 26 Feb 2013

Question: I have a lump behind my left ear. I noticed in two days ago, by accident. It hasn't caused me past pain. It seems to be irritated now but I've been constantly touching it. I've been on bactrim for 9 days for what I thought has been a UTI. The pharmacist gave me the bactrim. I've recently had low back pain and uncomfortability when having the urge to urinate. The uncomfortability has subsided. The back pain is still present. I do have history of degeneration so maybe the pain is related to that. Im just worried about the lump, especially after already having antibiotics. Heard it could be cancer...please help.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thanks for the query.

Firstly, the lump behind your ear could be due to growth or an infection. The exact nature can be determined by doing some investigations.

Since, the lump is in head and neck region, a CT scan would help to determine whether the lump is superficial or arising from some underlying structure. CT scan will help your doctor to decide whether to go for a Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the lump.
FNAC is an office procedure. It involves aspiration of cells from the lump with the help of a needle.
The cells sampled from the needle are examined under the microscope. This investigation will determine the character of the lesion and hence plan further management.

Secondly, you have mentioned that you are having lower back pain which is more when the urge to urinate is more. This lower back pain is most probably related to urine examination done to look for infection in the urinary tract.

Consult your doctor for clinical assessment, investigations and management.

Hope this answers your query. In case you have more queries, I will be glad to answer.

Dr Shailja P Wahal

Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad