Possible lymphoma. Without medical insurance, experiencing serious symptoms, unsure how to get help.

Hello. My name is Justin, I am 32 years old.

About a year ago, I had some pretty alarming symptoms.

1. Night sweats, not drenching the sheets, but enough to make me take the blanket off.
2. Persistent fatigue. I felt I needed to nap, and naps felt like they weren't effective enough to relieve the tiredness.
3. Headaches that would take longer to respond to ibuprofen, but these were headaches where I could hear blood rushing in my head.
4. Unintentional and rapid weight loss - I went from 205 pounds to 185 lbs in a matter of 3 months without trying.
5. Overheating at work - I felt like I had a fever and was sweating. Even though my boss took my temperature, I had no fever.
6. Itchy skin particularly on my arms and neck
7. My salivary glands started to swell.

The only upside that occurred while having these symptoms was that I had a normal appetite.

The problem is I didn't go to the doctors that often because I have no medical insurance. I went to my local clinic/doctor's office which is on a sliding scale basis and the best they could do for me was bloodwork and X-Rays. The bloodwork came back normal, and so did my X-Ray of my chest. 

I was concerned about my salivary glands being swollen, as they persisted to be swollen from August all the way to February. So in February of this year, I was referred to an ENT doctor. They did an ultrasound of the salivary glands and one was bigger than average and the other was smaller than average, but neither could be diagnosed as cancer. So I signed a release paper to have CT scan done on my neck, That's when the doctor mentioned I had a swollen lymph node in the back of my neck at the base of the skull. I neglected to get the blood work done for it until about another 2 months because of the cost (Until I was re-employed), so the CT scan never happened.

I was given a course of antibiotics for 10 days and it didn't help the swelling of my salivary glands. They're still in existence.

But it wasn't until recently that I discovered I'm having more serious symptoms. I'm concerned that swollen lymph node at the base of the neck has spread to the brain because of the following symptoms:

1. I’m having trouble remembering things: such as when I took my medications or pills, I can’t remember what I dreamed about in the night, I can’t remember if I closed the garage door when leaving the house.
2. Coordination issues (Most concerning). I run into objects all the time at home (Walls, corners, lamp posts) and at work (racks, walls, corners). I feel like I can’t walk perfectly straight. I lose my balance partially when I get up from bending over or kneeling at work. I had to briefly hold onto a shopping cart yesterday because I felt like I couldn’t walk on my feet.
3. TV Static vision/granular vision. This occurred for about a week, then I went to an optometrist. He dialated my eyes and examined them, said my cornea and sclera both look healthy, but it could be caused by something in my system and may need to get my GP involved. He gave me prescription eye drops, and the static vision went away.
4. Dropping items all the time at work. I can’t seem to hold a hanger properly and I drop them all the time. Same goes with paperwork and clothing.
5. Having trouble speaking. I can type just fine, but when it comes to conversations I studder, and must correct what I’m trying to say to people because what I intend to say never comes out right.
6. Headaches and migraines that won’t respond to ibuprofen. I’ve tried Excedrin, Tylenol, Aleve, Advil. None of them work anymore. These headaches are also agitated when bending over. Not so much when taking a sneeze or a bowel movement, yet.
7. Swallowing the wrong way all the time. Food goes down the wrong pipe a lot, I end up building excess saliva and swallowing the wrong way a lot even when I'm not eating. Accompanied by a nagging cough.
8. Weakness in my legs, I feel it the most when I work and when I lay down. I can’t stand on my feet for an extended period or else my legs feel like they’re going to snap. I get sore. Sometimes I get pins and needles in my leg, where it sometimes feels like water running down the side of my leg. I can’t sit with my legs crossed because of the pain.
9. Weakness in my arms and hips. I can’t sit, bend, or hold my arms up in certain positions at work for an extended period, or else they will give out and become sore.
10. Respiratory problems. Having trouble catching my breath, particularly in the morning. Having coffee makes it worse. It gets better throughout the day. I don’t understand this, because I had a chest X-Ray in September of last year and it was fine.
11. Heart palpitations – I can hear my heart beating at least half the day.

I had an MRI and an MRA done of my head back in January of 2021 when I had tension headaches, as diagnosed by my neurologist at the time, and no sign of a brain tumor or lymphoma at the time.

I had some brief pain in my right armpit as recent as last week and noticed an enlarged lymph node. But if I press on it, it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t move around that freely either.

I have 2 enlarged lymph nodes on my body in total that I know of. My right armpit, the back of my neck. Plus swollen salivary glands. I know I should be seeking help. I have an appointment with my GP at the clinic in 2 weeks, that’s as soon as they can get me in. I hope my body can wait that long. I know I probably should be going to the Emergency Room, but I just can’t because of the costs. I’ve been to the ER for extreme headaches last year and all it was, was dehydration, and that alone cost $400. If it is lymphoma and they find something in my brain, I am terrified of what I will do with no medical insurance because if they need to operate on my brain, the bill will jump to $75,000-$100,000+, which nobody in my family has, especially me. I just came off being unemployed for 5 months and that would land me in debt for the rest of my life, which I don’t want to happen. It will also cause a big argument with my parents as well because they mentioned I had every test done (MRI, MRA, CT scan, bloodwork) and it all came back negative. They feel there’s nothing wrong with me and I will be wasting money going to the ER especially with no insurance.

I am part of the Cleveland Clinic Financial Assistance Program at the hospital, but they’re very limited to what they can cover. I know for a fact they won’t cover any surgeries to that extent or chemo if it's lymphoma. It’s primarily for emergency surgeries and doctor’s visits. I don’t qualify for Medicaid, since I am over 18 and live with my parents. It’s very difficult to apply for disability insurance, I’m in the process of doing so, but may be denied. I was denied disability in high school. I just want to get better, but I don’t know what to do because of the costs and expenses without insurance. What should I do?