Can a swollen parotid and submandibular gland be the first sign of jaw cancer?
I am so worried I may have HPV in my mouth, but present with no oral lesions or swollen tonsils.
I did have some aweful tooth pain and ear pain a couple weeks ago, but it subsided.
Went to an ENT about the swollen node and he said I was reading too much on the internet and that I have a skinny neck that can be easy to feel things. I have HPV in my genital tract. I know for certain it is high risk. I have had oral sex with a man recently.
I know I have a cavity and I am just waiting to see a dentist when my insurance is approved.
I don't obsess over my body, I just really get concerned when something feels different.
Whole jaw on the right side where the parotid gland and submandibular gland is swollen, but painless. I have no troubles chewing or swallong and have no sores or a sore throat. I have looked at my mouth and nothing looks different, that I can tell.
My question is, does HPV always present with a sore?
Thanks for looking at the post, I know it is a lot of ranting. Also, I took an antibiotic and the swelling did not go down.
Thanks.

First, take a deep breath. There are many things that can cause swelling in the parotid glands and lymph nodes. Cancer is one of the relatively rare ones.

I'm curious first how you know you're HPV positive. I'm assuming that you were tested?

Secondly, to the best of my knowledge the virus is very often, perhaps mainly (I'll leave it to experts to parse this out) symptom free. I'm HPV 16 positive and never knew it until they tested me after my cancer diagnosis.

To be absolutely sure I and probably most here would recommend that you see an ENT with expertise in oral cancer. I'm not trying to second guess the doctor you saw as I am not an M.D., but to put your own mind at ease it might not be a bad idea to look at the Comprehensive Cancer Center links here on this website. That's always a good place to start.

I'm sure others will chime in with more (and doubtless better) advice. But mainly please remember that many things produce symptoms, and most of them aren't cancer!

Keep us posted.

Thanks for the therapeutic response.
I was wondering what you mean by no s/s of HPV cancer. You mean you had no swelling, sores, or difficulties chewing/swallowing?
You just had the swollen nodes?
I will definitley be seeing an oral surgeon to do a consultation, as the ENT I saw was kind of rude in assuming I am some overly dramatic young woman. I am a nurse and observe the human body all the time, so observing my own comes to me very easily.
I may be a little dramatic about it because no one discussed with me when I was told that I have high risk HPV, that it will cause cancer in the mouth. Now, I am waiting on my health insurance to be approved. My perspective is changing on the medical field after reading about all of the doctors who dismiss the signs as something acute.
I have to adapt to the negligence of many people on a day to day basis and now I feel as though I have been negligent in some ways. I don't like fearing the worse, but to protect yourself and get things figured out, you have to stand up for yourself.
Thanks for your re-assurance.

At this point, there has been no link between genital HPV and it jumping to become oral HPV. Just because someone have been diagnosed with oral HPV does not mean it will turn out to cause cancer. Studies have shown that the majority of the population will at one point or another get HPV but for most health people their bodies will clear the HPV without it causing any major problems. For a very few HPV+ people it can go on to cause base of tongue or tonsil cancer. Nationwide about 40,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed per year. Out of that figure the majority are now caused by HPV.

If your doctor doesnt take you seriously, get a new one. Your age should NOT be reason to dismiss your concerns! There have been plenty of young (under 25) people diagnosed with oral cancer. Ive seen 17 and 18 year olds diagnosed and have heard of a child of only 13 years old having OC. The most recent statistics show oral cancer in younger patients (under 35) is the highest growing segment of people who get this disease.

There could be several other explanations for your symptoms. Do you still have your wisdom teeth? Could this be a tooth that needs a root canal causing you this pain? Since you mentioned having a cavity, this is what could be causing you all the symptoms. I would suggest going to your dentist first to rule out your teeth are the problem. Then if that doesnt work, seek out an ENT who specializes in oral cancer patients. If the doctor you saw was that type of specialist then he must not see very many OC patients or he would know younger people can get OC too.

Good luck, I hope this turns out to be nothing serious!!!


PS... You mentioned you are young. The Guardisil shot is given to young men and women up to age 26. It can protect you from getting HPV strains which cause oral cancer, genital warts, cervical cancer, and anal cancer. Its a series of 3 shots. if you are in the nursing field, you should have this info easily available to you. I highly recommend getting vaccinated!!!!

Good. Standing up for yourself is a fantastic way to look at this.

To answer your question: no, I had no symptoms of HPV and would never have known it was residing in my body waiting to strike. I should add that most of the time (80%? 90%... not sure of the figures) the body flushes it out, if that's the term I want. I believe there's a comprehensive article on the subject that you can find through the main page of this site.

I started the big trip with a lump under the left side of my chin that turned out to be a malignant lymph node. That was my only symptom.

We're standing by to hear more about your progress as you do.

well I do have a swollen lymph node.
A couple actually and no other signs and symptoms. Did you have to get your teeth pulled?
My right ear hurts on the side with the swollen node.
I am waiting for my health insurance to kick in. I don't like that.
My lips tingle a lot, so not sure why that is.
I will have to schedule an appointment with another ENT, looks like.
Did the node get bigger?
What did it feel like?
Mine is very soft and squishy.
Did you have any tooth pain above the node?

Answers:

I was lucky, guess I've always taken good care of my teeth so none were pulled. I did however get fluoride trays which I always use.

The node didn't seem to enlarge far as I could tell. But I expect it grew to a point where I finally noticed it, no idea how long that might have taken. In fact the first FNA turned up negative and it was thought to be a branchial cleft cyst. It wasn't until the surgeon got in there to remove it that he knew at once it was SCC, and the biopsy after surgery confirmed it.

It felt like a walnut sized growth, hardish in the center, kind of could roll it around in place a bit. Once the FNA was done it seemed to shrink down, but was back to its previous size within a day or so. Which led me to believe that it was a cyst that was filling back up with fluid. I had no tooth pain at any time. Other pains... well....

Definitely a good idea to see another ENT with experience with cancer!

Why did they do radiation if the cancer was just suspected in that node?

I guess I don't understand why they do the radiation like a normal head and neck cancer that has no known origin in your mucosa??

Pet scans will show where the suspicious areas are.

Guide me as I have the same type of node going on that has not gone down after a run with antibiotics, although I am acknowledging that my teeth do hurt, and I many have a cavity/abcess by the node.

Seeing a dentist tomorrow.

Thanks for all of your input. As a nurse this tends to scare me a bit. I am aware of what doctors miss and assume sometimes.

did you experience any ear pain? I find it ironic that my lymph node also feels like a walnut inside and I can roll it around a bit.

THanks again.

Hi Young!

Welcome to OCF, glad you found us sorry you had too!

Everything you've described in your experiences are symptoms of Oral Cancer, specifically HPV related tonsil or Base of Tongue cancer which can be very difficult to diagnose, even by licensed medical professionals trained to detect this disease. I'm very good friends with an oral pathologist at the University of Washington in Seattle who's research showed that even trained Oral Pathologist can miss Oral Cancer without tests and adjunctive screening tools.

To ease your mind and mine, please find another Ear Nose and Throat specialist closest to you, or message me with your specific location and I'll find one closest to you to get you in for a FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration)biopsy of the walnut lymph node. Insist on this procedure and let them understand that failure to comply to your wishes is cause for negligence on their part if you do in fact have Oral Cancer. I've read where failure to diagnose Oral Cancer is the Second leading cause of Dental Malpractice, 60% of those cases are awarded to the patients if the diagnoses is greater than 3 months after a dental appointment. Those stats will scare the shit out of them to do whatever necessary to ease your mind and take your concerns as seriously as potential cancer is.

If you would like I have no issues speaking with any medical professional that disregards a patients concern and fails to potentially detect cancer early based on their patients symptoms. This is one of the reasons that Oral Cancer has a 61.7% survival rate by the way.

All that being said, don't "FREAK OUT" as we have a saying on these boards that "It's NOT cancer until a biopsy says it is." so do your due diligence and get it checked out as soon as possible. If you need help, I'll even help make those calls my dear.

Keep your chin up champ and let's get answers for you.

Eric