lump in throat

This is the story of Eduardo AND his mysterious lump. Nearly three months ago he woke up with a hard, golf ball sized lump under the skin of his neck, on the right side above the collarbone. This was not accompanied by any pain, discomfort, OR illness, so he did not seek medical attention for a while. The lump gradually became larger, still firm, AND painful only when pressed hard. About three weeks ago he decided to get it checked by a doctor. On the doctor's recommendation he had a CT scan AND some blood tested, as well as a BPD test. The PPD test was positive, but that may be because he had received a BCG immunization as a child. As far as I remember there was nothing abnormal in the blood test results, but I don't have them here to look at. The CT report reads: 4.2 cm in diameter fluid attenuated mass with irregular enhancing wall seen at the right neck base AND superclavicullar region. A 2.8 cm in diameter enhancing soft tissue density is seen medial to this fluid attenuated mass. Punctate calcification is seen in this mass. No air-fluid level is seen. The differential for this mass includes an abscess versus necrotic matted lymph nodes as seen with granulomatous disease; e.g. ; tuberculosis. An atypical lymphoma is a possibility. Clinical correlation AND if indicated biopsy correlation is suggested. He did have a biopsy - some solid material from inside the lump was collected with a syringe. The lab report for this biopsy has something about "mixed inflammatory cells" AND "rare polymorphonulear leukocytes," AND the word "benign." Immediately following the procedure the lump seemed to become infected, it was painful, swollen, AND red, this despite the Amoxic/Clavulanate antibiotics he had taken. Two weeks after this (and just when he finished the antibiotics) the infection became so severe that he went back to see the doctor who had administered the biopsy. The doctor said that the biopsy had not produced any conclusive information, AND that more material needs to be collected from the lump. The doctor also said the lump should be drained. The lump was full of pus, AND the doctor collected about two syringes of this to be analyzed, then continued to drain it. He also recommended that Eduardo keep draining the pus at home. This time he prescribed Levaquin antibiotics. Edu's health coverage does not cover Levaquin, so he was given Ciprofloxacin instead. Draining reduces the lump, at least superficially - the mass remains but the skin on top of it slackens. It always fills up again within a few hours. Eduardo has not yet taken the antibiotics, since the previous antibiotics did not seem helpful AND made him feel very weak. Since the infection is so tenacious he may begin taking the antibiotics, but is concerned about the side effects - from what we read about them they have some serious risks, like neurological effects AND damage to the tendons. The doctor who administered the biopsy was alarmed about the possibility of this being a case of TB. Eduardo does not show any other symptoms of TB. He tested negative for HIV. He feels healthy, though pretty worried AND frustrated. We are waiting to know the results of the biopsy. We were told this may take a number of weeks. Meanwhile, we don't know whether to proceed with these antibiotics (I think he will), AND what to think about all this TB business. Eduardo's condition has become worse ever since he started getting it checked. The lump had always been a lump, but only since being poked with a needle did it become a real problem. We feel very lost! We are trying to collect as much information about this as possible. I do hope you'll have some thoughts to share with us. Thank you