New Here....need advice...throat and neck

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acarp3118
acarp3118 Member Posts: 4
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

38....was a smoker 15 years..quit this year..light smoker....drinker, beer and shots, once a week or so...drink alot of coffee/caffeine

I am pretty worried....notice a small hard lump on right side of neck ...like 4 years ago....still there...i have gone to doctors numerous times....told me I have Gerd. Over the years, my throat is always sore....at the end of my throat right before it goes under breastbone....throat is super irritated....when I drink coffee it gives me a sharp pain on left side of throat below my voice box.  Now I have noticed another hard lump right beside the other one....and have another on my left side...same place....they are postior cervical nodes...i have another under my right ear that isn't hard.... But is flat and about an inch in size....the hard ones are only about bean size...they don't stick out...but I can set feel them....my right side of neck also is dull sore feeling....all along my jugular vein are...radiates down into my traps....my tonsils are also always swelled.

 

I was scoped a year ago...and nothing was found....but my continued symptoms have got me pretty worried....u search the internet and all of my symptom a are spot on esophagus cancer....but doctors just blow me off it seems, or just tell me it's nothing....but wtf, how in the hell can I have all these hard lymph nodes and a sore throat all the time....has anyone else had a similar experience like this.....

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  • ERomanO
    ERomanO Member Posts: 317 Member
    edited September 2019 #2
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    Second or third opinion

    From your description there is obviousy something there that shouldn't be blown off by any docs.  Get more opinions.  I'm surprised that no doc has opted to take biopsies unless they are so certain that it isn't cancer.  Be patient, there are people on here that know much more than me.

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,275 Member
    #3
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    My Suggestion Is

    Get with your family doctor and get referred to a good ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist) in your area or if you know of a highly rated ENT go to them and explain the history of your problems and concerns just as you did here. He can order a CT Scan with dye just of the neck area and it will show if cancer is there or other problems I am sure.

    My past cancer-2012-13 throat cancer-35 radiation treatments and 3 chemos plus two one week stays in the hospital on 24 hour chemo on separate occasions to let my blood count build back up.

    June operation Last year 2018-sore spot on my tongue-biopsy proved cancer-removed with clear margins.

     

    My Recent Story-I had soreness, stiffness, and tightness in the left side of my neck but from reading these forums know it could be my old radiation on that side catching up with me. I still see my ENT every month since tongue cancer last year so I just waited till my next appointment. At that point, it was still there.

    At my next appointment, I told him about my recent neck issues. He scoped me and checked my ears, nose, mouth, etc. gave me a real workover and felt around my neck and said it was a little stiff but that it had been that way on that side pretty much since my radiation treatments.

    He said he did not see anything to get overly excited about "BUT" just to be on the safe side he put in an order for me to get a CT Scan of the neck with Dye. The results of the scan showed that I have cancer of the lymph node or nodes. I then had a needle biopsy taken on August 26, 2019, that confirms it is cancer of the squamous cell variety.

    So it seems that you may have a long enough history of problems that there should be a justification for a CT scan. I don't know why they did not give you one yet as a way to see what may be going on better BUT then I am not a doctor and certainly have no first-hand experience with your situation.

    So my main suggestion at the top is to get to a good recommended ENT and get to the bottom of this-It looks like you have a wonderful family-Take care-God Bless

     

    Here is a link explaining Computed Tomography (CT) Scan-this link may not be clickable you may have to copy & paste it in your browser--

    https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/diagnosing-cancer/tests-and-procedures/computed-tomography-ct-scan

     

    And here is a link to a page explaining diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of head & neck cancers and please pay attention to the section on typical symptoms as it seems you may have at least 1 or more---

    https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=head-neck-cancer

     

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #4
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    acarp3118,

    acarp3118,

    Welcome to the H&N forum ,  I am sorry you are here, but I am glad you supplied us with sooo much detail (concerning your condition).   At first I thought you were putting-us-on, or pulling-our-leg .  No, you are not doing any of these things.  Instead, you are being “led along” this path with no good answers for the numerous small hard lumps on your neck (posterior cervical = lymph nodes), an un-hard lump under right ear, sore neck, throat is always sore (always sore?) and more,,,,,

    Well, even though many of us here stared our H&N cancer journey with a lump on our neck and many with  no pain whatsoever, the lump om my neck is the only thing I truly have had in common with you.

    A major bright spot for you is that the doctors have found nothing wrong.  Have they been looking for 4 years or is that your timeline for these issues?  If I had gone for 4 years with my stage IVa, SCC, BOT 1 lymph node, HPV+ left untreated I would not be here to welcome you into this delightful forum. 

    Your doctor(s) may very well be great, but if you do not have cancer (and it may very well, that you DO NOT HAVE CANCER).  They should be able to prove to you and everyone on here that it is not cancer.  Has there been any talk of a biopsy of a hard or soft neck lump, a PET scan to check the “eyes to the thighs” activity level within the body of acarp3118.

    One final note, many years ago the H&N forum did include the Esophageal cancer, but they ended up separating the two and giving them their own site (to find it, go to the top of the page and press Cancer Specific and away you go).  I have read many of the early posts from the early combined H&N and Esophageal forum and those (earlier) folks were nasty to one another and did not get along well at all. Which is nothing like the H&N forum I know today?

    Don’t forget, the 4 years is saying NO CANCER. Doctor Google is saying CANCER (we highly recommend staying out of the Doctor Google’s waiting room (the magazines are old and out dated as is his/her diagnosis),  get more opinions from  a good ENT (I prefer to recommend Dr. Matt Isright). Have a biopsy, get a PET scan and do not wait another 4 years.  We want answers now and I think you may need to step on it so we can share in your answers.

    Until next time. Has anyone seen my glasses, I have looked everywhere and I can’t find them. I am going outside to my shop to look. They have got to be here somewhere.

    Matt

     

  • Soldier of Love
    Soldier of Love Member Posts: 12 Member
    edited September 2019 #5
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    Get tested

    Hello Acarp,

    I was jusrv recently diagonased the same as you with nothing found when they put a scope down there.  Then we did an Ultra sound they still werent sure.  Then finaly I had PET test which diagonased me stage 1 skin cancer however I also had a bump on my right side of neck size of big peanut.  After several reviews and a team at the cancer boad they decided it was in fact skin cancer but somehow they were stilll consuded.  Point is Ive been mis-diagonased several times and the only thing I can think of is I'm a real healthy person who does not smoke but I did drink in my past. After we put togethr my treatment plan I elcected for just surgery.  Woulnt you know it aftter surgery they dianogased me one more time.  I have complete fiath in the doctors abailaites it just the proccess that sucks sometimes.  Keep on preseeing at it because we should all know our bodies and feel when it just not working right.  This is what saved me.  I hope you keep it up and take a look at what your eating and drinking because im a firm believer with NO guarantee that it would make it go away however it could slow it down or even make it disapare.  As the patint we have litle control but our foodintake we all control. You can start to do the little things that help even if its only a power of the mind this helps too.  Good luck and God bless

  • Sabrina23
    Sabrina23 Member Posts: 103 Member
    #6
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    acarp do get a test and second or third opinion don't stop

    Acarp, I agree with the others that gettting a test to diagnose what you have or don't have is in order not just the this is nothing category.  I got that from my general practitioner and then I got more suspcious of my symptoms and ended up going to ENT who did biopsy and low and behold I had tongue cancer.  I am not saying you have the C word but always go with your gut and heart and soul and know that there are caring doctors out there that will get to the bottom of they symptoms you are having.  God Bless and Keep us all posted. 

     

    Soldier of Love as well, Keep Soldiering onwards you are very brave and I know you can beat this thing.  You have been thru alot and God is wiht you and we are praying for you always for the strength and to somewhow make this disease go away miracles can happen with God.  I had a miracle occur with my surgery.  I thought I would be going thru so much more and they only had to do surgery on my tongue no neck dissection and I did not have feeding tube so I know God Blessed me with a miracle. 

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #7
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    I first noticed a lump on my

    I first noticed a lump on my neck and I went to my family doc. He didn't seem concerned, so I told him I wanted a referral to an ENT. My first ENT just wanted to start cutting and taking out lymph nodes and testing them after the fact. I fired him and went to a different one. The new one said he wanted to do a needle biopsy right then. He did and called me the next day and said I had cancer. Three weeks later I was in treatment at my cancer center. It was stage 3 at that point and I acted FAST. You don't want to mess around. Go see an ENT and inquire about an in office needle biopsy. You'll know for sure then.

  • Suez39
    Suez39 Member Posts: 162 Member
    #8
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    Agree with wbcgaruss

    With your symptoms they shouldn't blow you off. Definitely need to see a specialist. CT and pet scans will show if you have cancer. Don't just accept what those doctors are telling you. There are some bad ones out there. And being a cancer survivor myself the people on this forum are a great resource and have helped me. Always remember we will try to help you any way we can.

  • johnsonbl
    johnsonbl Member Posts: 266 Member
    edited September 2019 #9
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    Hope you can figure out what is bothering you...

    Are you being treated for the GERD?  I agree with the others, seems like you need to find a doc that will give you the time you deserve to try and figure out what is going on.

     

    If it's any consolation the 5 year survival % for esophageal cancer is 17%...meaning that if you started having symptoms from it 4 years ago, well, you'd probably already be worse off than you are.

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