 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | Ben,
I am am not sure that I agree with either of the previous posts. Diseases of the head and neck, which is an extreamely complex area, require the diagnosis of a specialist, either an ENT or a head & neck surgeon. My dentist has only seen 3 cancers in a patient in over 35 years of practice. (I was one of the three and he didn't know what it was even though the tumor was larger than a golf ball).
It sounds like an infection but with your previous history of dipping tobacco I wouldn't risk a mis-diagnosis. Early detection is key.
Gary Allsebrook
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Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
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"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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