Hello everybody, I am new to this site. I wish I didn't have to search this type of site out but I am glad this place exists. I have been reading here all day as my husband just informed me this morning he thinks he may have throat cancer. I am very afraid. More like scared out of my mind!

My husband has constantly been sick the past few months. Horrible sore throats all the time, earaches, headaches, fatigue, sinus issues, congestion, choking on food, snoring horribly, trouble breathing....he often has complained that he feels like something is stuck in his throat. 2 months ago he finally saw a doctor about all of this and they told him his tonsils were inflamed and he had tonsillitis. Treated him with a nasal spray, steroids and antibiotics. Didn't do anything for him. they sent him for a CT scan last month and they found a mucous covered cyst in the back of his throat. Okay, no big deal right I thought - probably benign and they can surgically remove it no problem. Well, fast forward to today. Husband tells me he wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving to tell me this (but he knew I knew something horrible was bothering him) so he tells me he thinks he has throat cancer. Turns out he had a talk with his mother a few days ago, and she told him how is grandfather died - throat cancer. He also had all the symptoms my husband is experiencing. Cancer runs on both sides of my husbands family.

He is only 30 years old, how can this possibly be happening to him at such a young age? He has been a light smoker most of his life (like a few cigs a month), but chewed tobacco when he was a teen. He drinks occasionally (like a 6 pack every couple months)...oh he was exposed to lots of second hand smoke when he was a kid growing up. Could all of this combined point to throat cancer??? I hope and pray not. Also, he has severe acid reflux and indigestion all the time especially at night. He eats a LOT of Tums. He is a little overweight but carries all of his extra weight around his midsection which I know is worrisome. I read that the GERD can actually contribute to getting throat cancer.

He has an appt. December 3rd with an ENT to view the images from his CT scan. My poor poor husband, he is freaking out. I am trying to be strong and supportive for him but my mind keeps going to the worst case scenario. I feel like our lives have come to a hault!

I really don't know what I am asking, guess just venting and asking for thoughts, ideas, or experiences from anybody. I feel so alone right now. We have 2 young children and I just feel like this isn't supposed to be happening, ya know? We are a young family supposed to be enjoying the holidays together. Instead I am left wondering how many more holidays my dear husband will be around to celebrate them with I love him so much. Thank you for listening.

There does not appear to be a genetic link to oral cancers. There are links to GERD but those are more in that larynx and below that. They contribute to a tissue change called Barrett's that leads to adenocarcinomas if left untreated. Getting his reflux under control is paramount, and a upper endoscopy to see if any of those tissues are converting to Barrtet's esophagus would seem prudent.

I would not count on any general MD's to get this diagnosis right in the short term. He should be seeing an ENT doctor ( there are two types, one that does head and neck surgery and one that see lots of other tonsillitis and stuff in kids. You want to find someone that has the additional head and neck surgery training). This kind of ENT will recognize the risky thing right way, and use a scope and his fingers to explore everything near the base of his tongue and tonsillar pillars carefully, two prime occurrence sites.

Some of these symptoms are very characteristic of oropharyngeal cancer (please don't panic until a doctor says so) the sensation that something is stuck in your throat, unilateral ear aches, chronic hoarseness (which can also come from GERD), inflamed tonsils very characteristic of the fastest growing segment of the oral cancer population. Also a painless, firm, lump in the neck, usually on the same side as the sore tonsil.

Risk factors for these cancers are viral (HPV16) and his youthful use of smokeless tobacco is likely a non issue.

So let's hope this is reflux/GERD related, and the scans show nothing important. He can start on over the counter Prilosec immediately which in a few days will begin to knock down the acid production in his stomach. It's a proton pump inhibitor that used to be an Rx drug but is now OTC.

Please report back in, ask any specific questions you have, or come here for just moral support and to vent. We all hope this turns out to be nothing serious.

Wow Brian thank you so much for your quick reply and all the wonderful information you gave me! I will keep all of this in mind, in fact I am writing it down. Your reply is extremely helpful and upon waking this morning (with what little sleep I got) I wish to be more objective and logical about this for my husbands sake. I don't want him to see me a basketcase again, I want to be a comfort and support to him in this scary stressful time. He is very nervous and afraid and I fear that my overly emotional reaction may have made it worse. I was not expecting him to tell me that so I was kind of caught off guard and just reacted without thinking. I am going to try to talk to him again tonight about it rationally. He hasn't been diagnosed with it yet so let's not worry so much, stay positive and cross that bridge IF we get there.

Yes I totally agree about getting his reflux under control. He definitely needs to be on Prilosec. He tried it once before but never continued to take it like he was supposed to. Instead he goes through a bottle of antacids every week. I will talk with him about this tonight along with the other things you mentioned.

May I ask how you know there is no genetic link to oral cancers? Have doctors told you this, or did you come upon it in research? If so could you point me to some reading material that discusses this? I am not doubting you, in fact I feel very relieved to hear you say that. I would just like to learn more about it and verify it....perhaps it could be a comfort to my husband.

Again thank you so much for your information packed reply. It has been so very helpful and gives me hope. I will definitely come back and update! And if anybody else has anything to add please feel free to keep replying. I can use all the interaction on this subject that I can get.

I lecture on programs with the best and the brightest researchers, and treating physicians on oral cancer in the US every month at universities, to doctors and to students. I pick up lots from them. I read almost every significant oral cancer research paper that comes out through the main journals like Lancet, NEJM, Journal of Oncology etc. weekly, and many doctors send me their pre publication data sets as a favor, since they know that I need it (to fight for things at the NIH NCI and elsewhere), and I will keep the actual data quiet in the public venue until the day of publication. Maura Gillison the HPV researcher is one that does this with me routinely. I have to know this stuff as well as the doctors that I am on programs with, though my background is in osseointegrated implantable devices, I have some significant accrued credibility over the last decade in this arena, but make no mistake, I am not a doctor. I do have to be able to quote it all chapter and verse from other researchers papers etc. off the top of my head to be on these programs.

There are 4 pathways known to oral cancer - tobacco, alcohol, (or the two in combination for a double whammy), and HPV16 virus. Those three are the big ones that account for about 93% of all oral cancers. The fourth, in about 7% of the people that get OC, they have no risk factors that we can determine. These cancers tend to be on the tongue, and they respond to treatment poorly with worse outcomes. They likely have some genetic predisposition or aberration to get them, but it is not familial that anyone has shown in peer reviewed publication.

Reflux and GERD. Anti-acids like TUMS OTC are only one path, and you can't deal with a serious case of things with them, though they are part of a solution. This condition has to have a time to heal, and that means shutting down the proton pumps that create the acid in the first place. This even allows the esophagus and larynx to heal from months of acid burns. 14 days in a row minimum of Prilosec, for me they had me on it for 9 months, with doctors permissions and recommendations. In his case it would not surprise me that he might be on them for a protracted period of time, ie months.

So that PPI treatment is often supplemented by OTC H2 blockers. H2 blockers reduce the amount of acid your stomach makes. While they don�t relieve symptoms right away, H2 blockers relieve symptoms for a longer period of time than antacids like those that are calcium based. They usually start to work within an hour. Examples of H2 blockers available over the counter are ranitidine (one brand name: Zantac) or famotidine (one brand name: Pepcid). Lastly there are the liquids that I use for peak immediate events. That would be things that contain magnesium and aluminum hydroxide. Maalox etc. I live on some combination of all these things, but if all he is doing is chewing TUMS, he is never going to get a handle on this. In extreme cases (me for instance) a nissan fundoplication surgery to help keep the acid in my stomach is necessary. Google it.