A careful medical history can provide important clues to the diagnosis of a neck mass.1 The patient's age and the size and duration of the mass are the most significant predictors of neoplasia.1 The patient's age is most important, because the risk of malignancy becomes greater with increasing age.2
Shortness of breath is a common symptom. Some patients have troublesome dry cough and others may have pain in the chest. Tiredness, lethargy, listlessness and joint pains are common. Sarcoidosis may also cause fever and weight loss.
Symptoms of sarcoidosis vary depending on the area of the body involved, and may be mild, moderate, severe, or absent. The lungs are usually the first area to be affected by sarcoidosis: 9 of 10 people with sarcoidosis have some type of lung involvement. Pulmonary sarcoidosis can be serious, leading to the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the lungs. This complication can interfere with breathing.