Question: I have a question regarding a lump on my neck. I believe it's a swollen occipital lobe - it's located about one or two inches from my spine in the back of my neck right where the skull meets the neck. I've always been able to feel a few lymph nodes in my neck regardless if they are swollen or not. I'm thin and I'm assuming that's why. But the one in my neck comes and goes in terms of size. I first noticed it after a haircut where my entire neck was broken out in razor burn. Since then, the lump has been there each day but its size varies; it never goes away but it's bigger and smaller and then bigger again. Sometimes I feel like I can compress it all the way down until it disappears, which makes me think it's a cyst rather than a node. Right now, it's enlarged again but I have a scratch on my neck right near it. I saw an ENT a few months back who wasn't concerned with it. She did do an ultrasound though because I'd had a mole removed in the area a year ago that came back as severely dysplastic. Two different pathologists looked at it and said it wasn't melanoma but it was headed there. I had it fully excised with clear margins three weeks later. Anyway, when I had the ultrasound the node wasn't as enlarged as it had been and the scan revealed a node measuring 3mm by 7mm. They said it was very normal and benign looking. My question is why it won't go away. Is it possible to harbor an infection in that area that keeps coming back any time my scalp area is scratched? My head scratches very easily and even using a loofa to shower can cause tiny abrasions. I'd say the node has been up and down since October. Also, it's almost impossible to feel when I'm looking straight, but I can feel it much easier when I turn my head to the left.