Hello-I am a HIV negative female. I discovered a knot in my abdomen about 4 months ago-it is on the right side about 2 inches to the right of the belly button. My friend felt it (shes a nurse)and said it could not be a cancerous lump because it is attached to my abdominal wall. I am concerned about Hepatitis because I have heard that you can have swollen lymph nodes in the abdomen. Is this common in hepatitis? The other thing it could be is a hernia. I am not sure what it is but it scares me. I am so scared that I don't want to get it checked out---I dont know what I would do if I found out it was hepatitis B or C. The knot is NOT painful to touch and started out smaller and grew over time. I don't think I have any other symptoms that would correspond with hepatitis. No pale stools, jaundice, etc. Should I be concerned and believe that this is Hepatitis? Thank you for your time! Please help!

As you know, I can't be 100 percent sure what this "knot" is without seeing you. However, my best guess would be that it is a "lipoma" a fatty deposit in the wall of your abdomen.

I would go to your doctor and have him/her check it out and then you can be totally reassured.

I can't imagine any connection to hepatitis.

Dr. McGovern