The problem with doctors (my sister is one...) is that most are suffering from tunnel vision. They aren't focused on the total package... I believe this is a result of the "specialized" tag most seem to pursue after medical school.

My mom's jaw was giving her pain for over a year before her diagnosis. Her GP attributed the pain to her arthritis and prescribed pain meds. In November of 2005, she went to the dentist (he noticed nothing). Throughout December of that year, she went through several tests to determine if she could handle a hernia repair operation.
This testing uncovered a corated artery which was repaired in January. Again, the T4 cancer lurking in her mouth remained undiscovered.

In Feb of last year, she went to see her GP because the top of her mouth was sore. He prescribed her an anti-biotic (which did nothing) making the mistaken assumption that the tubes put down my mom