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.
1 Sarcoidosis. 2  This disease causes inflammation and can affect various organs in the body. 3  Researchers believe that an abnormal immune response may cause sarcoidosis. 4  This abnormal response causes tiny lumps of cells to form in the body's organs, including the heart.