Left side of throat/jaw swollen and painful

rbel87
rbel87 Member Posts: 2
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hi thanks for taking time to read this. I'm a 25 year old male that has had no major health concerns up until the past year. I've experienced trouble swallowing and speaking for about a year with other strange sypmtoms including muscle swelling and twitiching in the left side of my face and neck/throat. I've also experienced temporary loss of feeling and tingling in the left side of my face, jaw and lower lip. My throat/neck constantly feels full and uncomfrtable. My left salivary glands feel swollen to me and I've been noitcing excess saliva as well, along with my left tonsil noticeably larger than the right. 

I've been to my PCP and and ENT and they have told me the swelling is nothing more than asymettry in my body, and they don't feel any lumps or anything too worrisome. The ENT stuck a camera down my nose and said my throat looks perfectly healthy. CBC results came back normal and negative results for lymphoma and thyroid disease/cancer. 

I've tried to just ignore this but it really impacts my daily life and causing anxiety and slurred speech etc.. 

Any ideas on what could be causing these symptoms or if they sound like some kind of cancer? Any input is greatly appreciated.

I have another appointment in about 6 weeks and will request a scan of the area. 

Comments

  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,034 Member
    #2
    Our own Advocates

    rbel87,

    I am sorry to see you here seeking answers to your questions. It appears you are on the right track being your own Advocate in your health. Since you have taken the steps to see your PCP and the local ENT you may want to seek a 2nd even a 3rd Opinion to get to the bottom of how you feel. 

    Unfortunately, I am not able to help with your question as to whether what you describe as possible cancer? Only a Doctor/ Specialist can answer that question for you.  

    Others will be along with suggestions as well. Please keep us up to date.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,484 Member
    #3
    Staying on Top of It

    It seems you are staying on top of things monitoring your health really well. You know something is not right because things are occurring that are unusual to you. So stay with it don't give up. As MarineE5 has pointed out another opinion is probably warranted and your idea to get a scan of some sort is something to run by a doctor. I think you can take some comfort in the fact that your PCP and the ENT sound like they checked you properly and did not find anything obvious. Good Luck-God Bless

  • rbel87
    rbel87 Member Posts: 2
    #4
    Thanks so much for replying.

    Thanks so much for replying. I know there's not much anyone can tell without being a doctor and as this is just an online forum. Just wondering if anyone has had similar symptoms and how they dealt with them/how they were diagnosed. My best to the both of you as well. 

  • Frances_S
    Frances_S Member Posts: 54
    #5
    Another Opinion

    Be your own advocate and stay on top of this. You may want to go to an ENT oncologist for another opinion. I think the twitching may be caused by the stress of not having a definitive answer. You can see a neurologist for this if it is bothersome.

    When my husband was diagnosed I couldn’t stop twitching. My eyes, cheeks, jaw and top lip would twitch 24/7, sometimes it was noticeable. I even had tremors in my hands, head and throughout my body. I could barely hold a glass without spilling it. I had to take medication for anxiety and stress. It is now 8 months after his treatment, all my symptoms are gone. Talk to you doctor, because stress is a terrible thing to live with, especially when you can't get through it on your own.

  • Andrea39
    Andrea39 Member Posts: 36
    edited August 2018 #6
    Plz plz plz dont take it

    Plz plz plz dont take it light. Go to another Dr for second opinion. I also had similar issues and was being misguided by my drs for almost a year until i finaly had a biopsy and pet scan that confirmed cancer. So my advise is just dont leave this thing in middle have a confirmation based on sound medical evidence not only by dr evaluations. Prayers for your good health and long life. 

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