Hello,

OK, so I've dipped tobacco for 30 yrs and recently I've had a sore throat that started Feb 1st that has not improved. Upon looking in my throat with a flashlight last Thursday I noticed the back looked a bit blotchy with a white spot behind my right tonsil. No other symptoms at the moment, no swollen tonsils, glands, lumps, fever, speech changes, etc. Just a few things my mind is creating in psychosomatic fear imo. I took a pic below of the blotchy area. Anyone here familiar with this?

[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/theshawn_photos/20130211_232737_zps96065b20.jpg[/img]

Obviously I quit dipping last Thursday and curse myself for being stubborn this long. If this is throat cancer my daughter and wife will not be happy with me as they have told me for years to quit.

Anyway, I'm in a high deductible HSA health plan and don't want to waste time/$ going to a GP since I don't really have one on account I'm rarely sick. Should I call a ENT office first? Go straight to an oncology clinic for a swab test?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome to OCF!

Im sorry but by seeing a photo I am not able to give much of an opinion. Here on the forum we are fellow patients and caregivers without years medical training. I will still attempt to help you.

I noticed on your tongue it appears to have a white coating, that could be thrush. The bumps look to me like blisters. Since tobacco contains at least 50 known cancer causing chemicals they are bound to eventually irritate the sensitive mouth tissue. There are so many things added to tobacco that can cause problems! One additive is urea which is urine. The way chewing tobacco works is it is engineered to make cuts in a persons gums in order to have the tobacco soak into their bloodstream quickly. Im very glad you have quit your dipping! Im a former smoker and also quit cold turkey. I know its not easy but please try to continue to remain tobacco free, it could save your life.

I would suggest making an appointment to see an ENT who specializes in OC. Any sore you have in your mouth that has been there for 2 weeks or longer needs to be checked by a professional. A biopsy will determine if what you have is cancerous or not. An ENT that sees alot of OC patients should be experienced in diagnosing other oral ailments.

Since you just noticed this it sounds to me like you have caught it early which is good. Try your best to stay busy so you dont worry so much. I know thats a difficult thing to do when you are concerned about something as serious as having cancer. But by worrying it really wont help, it will only make you get more stressed which isnt good for you at all.

Hopefully you dont have anything serious and whatever you have is easily taken care of. Please keep us posted and good luck!

Ditto what Christine said. Hopefully it's not cancer... The coating on your tongue looks like thrush, but some people just have white tongues because they have a lot of calcium (my husband does!) Regardless, you have a problem that needs to be addressed,so I would look a for an ENT as Christine said. Someone who is very familiar with Oral cancer - if they feel it is necessary they can do a biopsy.

best of luck

OK thank you both, I will find a ENT familiar with OC to look me over. I'll post an update on what I find out.

Googling throat cancer definitely scares the crap out of you, it would be nice if there were better pics of various types and stages to help self diagnose a bit better. If mine turns out to be cancer I will definitely be posting more pics of what mine looks like to help others.

Chucky, glad you will go to an ENT to get checked out. Thanks for your offer to post photos but its really not necessary since there already is a photo gallery on the main OCF pages. The photo gallery will surprise you. What you may think must be cancer turns out to be something else.

Click on each photo, then click on diagnosis to see what the person really has.

Photo Gallery




PS... Use caution when using internet searches to help you find a diagnosis. There are way too many false medical things on the internet. OCF abides by Health on the Net Code which ensures correct medical info is written on this website. Very few other medical sites have the honor of being part of this organization and its strict standards.

OK, thanks, I made an appt with an ENT specialits, but they can't get me in until March 15th.

I paid $18 for a question to a doctor on an ehealth site who told me it (the pic above) looked like some thrush (candidiasis) and could be because my immune system is being taxed by a cancer of the throat.

If this is true and there is something back there somewhere, will waiting a month to see the doc be a problem? Or should I look elsewhere to get in sooner? Thoughts?

Thanks.

I can't emphasize enough how right-on Christine is about using caution when using the internet to find a diagnosis! When my son was first diagnosed with SCC, just looking up stuff on the internet scared the you-know-what out of me! Luckily by the time my son had surgery and was in his Radiation Tx, we found this forum which has been a God send for us. Only a biopsy can tell for sure whether a suspicious area in your mouth is cancer, please DO get to an ENT who has extensive experience treating Oral Cancer patients. Waiting a month to see the ENT can be very stressful! If you are confident this ENT has the proper experience, I would push for an earlier appointment mainly to avoid the stress of waiting. After my son saw an Oral surgeon, and set up an appoint two weeks away with the ENT, I was a basket case of worrying about it but my Ex-daughter-in-law seeing how stressed I was offered to call and she got the appointment moved up to the next business day (from Friday to Monday). They can move things around to fit you in or when someone else cancels an appointment. Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt to see what other ENT's are available to get you in sooner. Hang in there Chucky and let us know how you are doing.

Yep, internet searches bad. Doctors good.

I scared myself silly after I was diagnosed, sure that I was going to die from this, which clearly has not been the case.

I was smoker, and promptly quit.

Try a dentist for a checkup - that's how I was initially diagnosed, and should be covered under your health plan.

Stuff like this reminds that I am really happy to be in Canada. Cost never even occurred to me throughout.

I hope that was a doctor for $18.? Anyway, there are many other reasons for Candidiasis (thrush), which is easily treatable, but could have co-involvement, so as mentioned, see an ENT or another that is available sooner for a proper diagnosis, and not Dr. Google. Good luck.

Try and move the appointment up if you can call and ask to be put on a waiting list.