Went to my ENT monday. This cost me 85.00. Once a month I get to give this man 85.00. Yet he tells me he is watching my pocket and does not want to send me for a cat scan for the lump on my neck. Gee I think I forgot to tell him I have or HAD cancer and I am kind of concerned about this new lump. So I wait. He said he wasn't worried about the ringing in my ears because there was nothing he could do about that so I asked him if I went insane would that help. He gave me zanex. Opps I took one last night, I have not had a drink of any kind of alchahol in 13 years but boy did I go on a trip. Needless to say I throw away the pills. So this is where I stand I have a lump in my neck, ringing in my ear, I am deaf in that ear and the Good Dr says nothing, that will be 85.00. I should have listened to my mom and stayed in school, so I can look at some one and say I can't help that but it cost you 85.00 not even for an hour!! Oh unless the two hours you sit in the waiting room for him to say NEXT! I am SCREAMING right now. Sorry if I hurt your ears. Brenda

You could take a smaller dose of the xanax and it might actually help you since you are on the edge with all this. Dosing these kind of drugs sometimes takes a bit of trial and error, throwing them away doesn't help you. He could do a fine needle biopsy of the lump, which I would prefer to the scan. The scan will only tell you that you have a mass, it won't tell you want it is. A FNB will actually give you some cells for a pathologist to look at... and get an answer. Remember that there are two levels of ent's, some that just go to school to treat the sore throats, ear aches etc. and those that go through an extra two years of school to become head and neck surgeons, and they know much more about these cancers. So I am trying to get this straight here, have you decided that you HAVE cancer now?

As a side note please keep your posting all in the same thread. You have posts in a bunch of different areas, some of them the same, with different people answering you, and it is hard to figure out where you are with things trying to chase down all this.

I agree with Brian about the CAT scan--it will only show an enlargement, but not the reason for it. I had a CAT scan the year before my diagnosis. The report read mildly enlarged tonsil, but no evidence of malignancy, which was too bad because that delayed my diagnosis for another year. I was pretty ignorant about what a CAT scan could indicate. Brenda, I know how frustrating this is for you. Radiation is causing all kinds of weird aches, pains and ear ringing for me as well. I saw my ENT Tuesday; he basically said I was fine but had allergies and TMJ, so I got sent on my way with the name of a TMJ specialist.
When do you see your oncologist again?
Like Brian said I would hang on to that xanax, and halve the dose to take the edge off your anxiety. It's perfectly normal for you to be anxious, but lessening wouldn't be a bad idea.
Take care, Teresa

Thanks I am sorry for going all over the place I get confused as to where I am sometimes. I do that while I am talking a normal conversation as well and get fussed at. No I didn't throw away the xanex but only am taking a half of a dose. I see my onocologist again in June however if this lumpp keeps growing I will see him way before. I have a job and can't hardly work it. This morning I woke up and scared myself when I looked in the mirror because my face was so swollen. Allergies? Again I am sorry for hopping around so much. Brenda