New here and possibly some type of oral cancer

Hello and welcome

to this forum.  It is a good one, and I'm sure you'll get responses that will help put your mind at ease a little.  No....swollen lymph nodes do not automatically mean it is cancer.  Most of us went thru a few weeks of antibiotics before any type of biopsy was done....and that's because usually swollen nodes do NOT mean it is cancer, but infection. 

It is good you're getting this all checked out by an ENT....if for nothing else than a giant relief for you to find out it isn't.....we say around here that it ain't cancer till somebody (in the know) says it is....

Most of us went for months between noticing a swollen lymph node, to actually getting treatment for cancer.  I started chasing my node with my GP in January, and didn't get my first treatment until almost the end of April....if it does turn out to be cancer, it is slow growing....and waiting around for plans to be laid, and treatment to begin is really one of the hardest parts of this whole thing. 

p

Welcome...

First, the things you describe do not mean you have cancer... Actually neither will the scan or scope, but a biopsy will.

At this point, it isn't cancer until you have some tissue biopsy telling the MD's it's cancer.

I had STGIII Tonsil cancer with mets to a lymphnode, and didn't really have any of your symptoms other than a swollen lymphnode. Swollen lymphnodes indicate they are more than likely doing as the should..intercepting something going on, not necessarily cancer though.

As for the time, it's not really a long time, it's just long to you because of the situation. The ENT should tell you right when you have your scope if he sees anything of concern, shouldn't need be a follow-up to that scope...

A scope just consists of running a visual tube through a nostril down to the top of your lungs usually. Turning your head from side to side, saying EEEEE. Maybe some touchy feely stuff going on..., that's about it.

At this point even though you are concerned..., and more than likely scaring the crap out of yourself researching the internet (more thn likely how you found this site)..., you don't have a diagnosis of cancer. If you are lucky after the next few MD visits you still won't.

But if luck isn't in your favor that way, it is in you finding this site..., many people here to offer their experiences and knowledge.

Best,

John

 

 

HobbsDoggy said:

One Day at a Time - Sort Of

The waiting and worry cannot be easily set aside.  I could not but kept thinking if it is not cancer great and if it is let's jump on this and hit it with all they have and get rid of it.  The advantage of neck cancer, if there is any advantage, is a high cure rate. 

I had two months of yes it is, no its not, etc.  It was not good, but when I got that it is cancer the doctors were ready and jump on it.  So far so good. 

My only advice, for what it is worth which may not be much, is if it looks like cancer or they are not sure to ask about getting a biopsy.  At first all I got was a fine needle probe which gave a strong indication of cancer and they almost started treatment until a great doctor said I want a biopsy as we are not going to start treatment unless we are sure its cancer.  May not be needed in your case but just throwing that out there. 

I had swollen lymph nodes most of my life due to sinus infections.  That's what they treated at first as that was the most likley thing and made the most sense. 

First off...
Let's talk about your cool screen name! I love it because it reminds me of Bob Marley and I can just hear him singing it now! Not sure if your name is any way at all in reference to that song but now that tune is just stuck in my head :-)
Now on to the other goodies. I'm going to say this and I know you probably won't be able to do it but, relax. Try very hard to relax! If if if..... it turns out to be cancer, it is not a quick growing as you'd think. Most of us went months from our first appointments with "what's this?" to our actual start of treatment. All that being said, it may not even be anything for you to worry about.
Our lymph nodes do swell up when they are doing their jobs. Any infections like a cold, sinus infection, tooth infection, even if you have say poked your mouth with a chip or burnt yourself with hot pizza. All those things can make your nodes go crazy.
It's a good thing you are seeing an ENT because he or she will help you get to the bottom of this. I'm not sure where you live but if you can go to an ENT at a teaching hospital they usually have a videostrobeoscopy machine and it gives them a much clearer view than the typical rigid scope. My regular ENT was always doing the regular nasal rigid scope and could only see that my cords looked "funny" and possibly paralyized. He ended up sending me to USC head and neck unit and the videostrobe showed much much more. Even being able to see more, my new ENT wasn't 100% sure until we did a biopsy. My original ENT was shocked when in my case it turned out to be cancer because he admitted that based on what little he could see with the rigid
scope, he wouldn't have even felt the need for a biopsy. He said a video strobe is always a better exam, so see if you can request one.
If after meeting your ENT you still feel like you don't have all of the answers, you can ask us on here for a dr recommendation in your area. You might find that someone on here can refer you to a dr that they love and trust.
Welcome again and please try and relax :-)
Billie

The glass is half full....

Attitude is everything, and as so many have said so far, unless the MD says it is cancer after the right tests, it is not cancer

DON'T BORROW TROUBLE if you can avoid it, worry is normal, after all, the worst feeling I ever have had in my entire life was when my ENT told me that I had a tumor on the base of my tongue and it was likely malignant.  He never said it was cancer until after the pathology report came back positive for squamous cell carcinoma.  So hang in there.

Lymph nodes react to lots of stuff, it's there job to, so there may be hundreds of reasons why your's popped up, and likely none of them involved the nasty C.

I was diagnosed with base of tongue, the primary tumor was 3 cm, and the largest of the lymph nodes was 6 cm, so they put me at stage IVa, and I had no symptoms while it was growing.  I asked my medical oncologist how long it may have been growing before it became symptomatic, and she said that it could have been as long as two years, my ENT said that on a microscopic level, it could have been as long as 5 years!  So sllloooooowwwww growing it is.

Keep a positive outlook, it is so much easier than worrying.

 

Threelittlebirds said:

Bob Marley

Thank you all for your kind replies and words of advice.  I am trying real hard not to worry and some days are good and some not so good.

The not knowing is hard, not that I want it to be cancer, but once we know, we can make a plan and tackle it.  I am also away that swollen lymphnodes and tonsil could be something else but it has been a month and a half....that is a long time.  I am also getting some night sweats and I hope they are realated to perimenopause ... just odd that it all came together at the same time.

Billie, my nick name is after Bob Marley's song.  I thought it would be fitting since it's such a postive one.

Chantal

Stephen Marley Also...

Another favorite of mine also......

JG