Hello. I'm becoming increasingly worried about swollen glands in my neck. The swelling is located on either side of my neck, roughly half an inch below the mastoid process (these might be the upper cervical lymph nodes but I'm not sure). They can't be seen, but when I feel my neck they feel hard. I've had them now for about three weeks. My only other symptoms: a slight sore throat that comes and goes, and a very infrequent cough.
My doc prescribed me with some antibiotics to see if they help. I'm taking good care of myself, sleeping and eating well, and getting plenty of exercise... but the swellings remain the same. I think they've remained roughly the same size since I first noticed them.
I've done some googling and learned that these swellings - especially when lasting more than two weeks and remained fairly hard, like in my case - can signify a chronic disease such as cancer (e.g. lymphoma). The thought of that freaks me out. Besides maybe drinking and smoking a bit too much in college, I take really good care of myself.
Any information on neck swellings in this area would be much appreciated, including what type of doctor I should consider seeing if they remain swollen.