I have a very similar story, which I’ll share I suppose. Be advised it might be long, and unfortunately I have no answers.
I’ve been on google looking up everything about chest swelling and chest pains tonight, and I stumbled onto this (I have been making myself crazy thinking I have some kind of chondrosarcoma or something).
Anyway. I’m 31, male. About six months ago I began feeling dull chest pains (but stabbing in nature, namely very specific/localized pains, intermittent in nature as if being stabbed in a sense), right in the middle of my chest, but they quickly began to affect the left side of my sternum and the nearby rib cartilage most of the time. Over the next month to two months, the pain gradually became more noticeable, more common, and more severe. It had a wider area of effect as well, although it mostly stayed on that left side of the sternum (also felt aching in my armpits). I didn’t think I was having heart issues, but I went to the ER when I realized it was not getting better.
At the time, I had no idea if this was my ribs or something deeper inside. I suppose I wasn’t much help for the doctor in determining my issue, in that light. Either way, I was diagnosed with “atypical chest pain”. My EKG/ECG, blood work and X ray we’re normal. Great, no answer and no help.
As time went on (it has been 4 months since the visit which was on Jan 30, and about six or so months since it began), it got worse. I began to not only have pain which was on and off, but I started to get a feeling of pressure and tightness in my ribs (this was clearly a rib issue, I realized at some point). The pain was not constant, I’d have good days. However the pressure sensation was almost always there, unrelenting, and on the worst days I would get a fluttering feeling in my chest along with the pain, which basically happens on my entire chest (I’ve had palpitations, however I can’t be sure if this was the cause, as I’ve had them, very rarely, before this started). I have days with pain, which are usually followed by days of unrelenting pressure and tightness.
Well I still have no answers, except now I have swelling as well. Oddly the swelling is on my right side, not the left where the pain began and where it was for most of this time period overall (that side doesn’t bother me much now).
I think it is my third rib (I’m unsure of my ability to count ribs). I have a noticeable lump that I can feel by touching of course, but also I can feel it in terms of pain. It feels just like the rest of my pain, but at times I can really notice that lump is hurting or sore. It’s not huge, but it’s certainly there. It started only a week or two ago, or at least that’s when I noticed it. It is 2-3 inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm) horizontally and about an inch vertically in dimension (thicker than my ribs normally are), but the middle is a defined lump that is fairly hard. When it was very swollen, it felt like a lump with a hill or mound type of contour. Tonight it feels more like an abrupt round-ish lump, after the swelling went down a bit. It seems to change in size/swelling, at least over the last couple days, ibuprofen seems to help to a degree, and simply having a “good day” (last night it felt smaller for example, like it was getting better. and this week was a great week where I had several days of feeling fairly normal, although it flared up again today).
Around the time I noticed the lump, I also had a morning where I woke up with pain upon breathing deeply. This had not happened in the previous six or so months. However this went away. It only happened on one day, and hasn’t happened since. It was odd. It felt like my chest was healing. It’s hard to explain but you know when you have an injury that is healing and it has a certain kind of soreness? It felt like that. But it got worse again today so, yeah.
Anyway, I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Sorry I have no answers for you, but it helps to hear similar stories for me, so I figured I’d share this. I know it helped me mentally to see your post, knowing I’m not alone. This is the first post I saw. Hopefully I’m not breaking any forum rules. Good luck and keep us posted.