Hello,

I guess I'm a little lost and nervous. First, a little about me. I'm a 27 yr old male, non-smoker and occasional drinker (few times a year). Between Christmas and New Years I had a very minor sore throat on the right side of my throat. This persisted on and off for about two weeks and I eventually went to the local mec center. The doctor did a strep test and it came back negative and my throat hasn't bothered me sense then. He said the right side of my throat looked fine, but that the left tonsil was a little swollen. Knowing a little bit about tonsil cancer, I asked him if I should be concerned about it. He looked at it again and said no, and that sometimes parts of the mouth swell larger than other parts.

I felt a little uncomfortable with that diagnosis and decided to get a second opinion from an ENT, and that appointment is scheduled for February 6.

My question here is, how do you all deal with the anxiety and nervousness between appointments and receiving results? I'm having a very tough time and it's keeping me awake at night and ruining my appetite. The left tonsil is "somewhat" enlarged, but not massively (not taking up half my mouth) and does not hurt at all. But, it does look different than my other tonsil. Last weekend I was in the ER for a minor heart issue and the CBC blood test results from that day all came back ok, though some of the results were on the "lower end" of "normal". Also, when I was 3 or 4 yrs old I did have a few months period in which I had several bouts of strep throat.


My main reason for setting up an appointment with the ENT is just to be safe and also for peace of mind. For all I know my tonsil has been like this for a long time and I've only now noticed it. I'm just having a tough time dealing with the anxiety and stress of waiting, especially after everything I've read on here and other websites. Thanks for listening.

Rhart

RELAX - TAKE A DEEP BREATH - okay, now let's talk.
First, oral cancer is indeed something to be scared about.
You are to be congratulated for being aware that any changes in your mouth like you noticed need to be checked out by an ENT.

You will have to excuse me for not being overly concerned that you are awake at night and have lost your appetite since I wake up each and every night drowning in mucous and saliva plus I will never eat again. But I am concerned that you are letting FEAR get the best of you. It's not easy dealing with the anxiety and nervousness between appointments and results and if I had a universal answer on how to deal with it, I'd be very rich and famous. I'm not.
At 27, with your symptoms, even if the worst case scenario happens and you have oral cancer, it will more likely than not be at the earliest stage and treated successfully.
You need to be strong and realize from all the posts here that even if you do have oral cancer, you can have a happy life and it's not the end of the world. Doomsday stuff is just TV melodrama.

Okay, you did not come here for platitudes. So my advice is that if you have any doubt about the ENT telling you it's nothing, then ask the ENT to do a biopsy of your tonsil or a fine needle aspiration of the most swollen part. Hell yeah it may be overkill but only a biopsy tells you whether it's cancer or not. Or get an MRI or a CAT scan.
Seriously, I wish with all my heart and soul that I had gotten a CT or MRI two years earlier when my earache first started. They are not as invasive as a biopsy and if you are so worried that you join an internet forum dedicated to oral cancer patients, then you have a fear that needs to be resolved.
It's probably nothing and you can just let us know with a
"there but for the grace of God go I" post. In the meantime, you should not imagine the worst. Worrying is not going to help anything here nor does it cure cancer. But I know you can't help yourself so I;m going to tell you a cancer survivor secret: you are stronger than you think.
But it couldn't hurt to be extra nice to the people you love.
Hang in there.
Charm

Welcome to OCF. I am sorry you are scared and worried. Its only natural to be afraid of the unknown.

Make sure the ENT you are going to see is familiar with treating oral cancer patients. Some ENTs specialize in things like putting tubes in kids ears.

I am not surprised that the doctor you first saw dismissed your cancer concern. That type of doctor would not see or treat oral cancer patients so would probably not be able to identify it. Most experienced ENT doctors would be able to visually differentiate between some mouth problems like lichen planus or a gum infection. A cancerous tumor needs a biopsy to correctly confirm if it is cancer or not. The rule we go by around here is if you have a sore in your mouth or throat and it has been there for over 2 weeks then its time to get it checked by a professional. Since you have a sore throat and one side of your tonsil is swollen then you would want to get it checked since it has been going on for over 2 weeks.

To help ease your anxiety, stay busy. Worrying will not change the results or make you feel any better. It will only make you feel worse. Nothing you are able to do will change what is going on in your throat. Dont make yourself nuts by worrying. I know its easier said than done but I have been right where you are. After my first time around, I learned to not let my mind go to the "what if's". Do productive things to stay busy. Clean out a closet, begin an exercise schedule (do push ups every time you start to worry), volunteer to help the elderly, or spend some time with helping children. There are so many charities that could use an extra pair of hands. Helping others will help you to take your mind off yourself and your problems.

Best wishes with your appointment. I hope you wont need to be part of our group but if you do, dont worry, we will help you.

Rhart!

Welcome to OCF my Texas friend! Glad you found us, sorry to hear about your issues.

As Charm stated, well done on being aware of what's going on with your body and getting a second from an ENT even...bravo! It's refreshing to read younger people use good sense!

As far as universal advice to deal with the anxiety, sleep disorder and appetite until your next appointment...hmmm...what could you do to help with that, let me think a moment. If I were to think of a natural occurring substance that could be vaporized or ingested that would relax someone, help them sleep and also probably clean out all of the junk food in the house as well as produce really bad poetry or song lyrics what would it be? I know there's a solution somewhere out there for you, I feel it. I'm going to watch Pineapple Express and eat a few brownies and I'll keep thinking about it.

Whatever I come up with I know two things, I would never encourage you to break the law, nor would I suggest smoking anything, both are bad for you.

Anyway my good friend so far you've done everything right (checking the issue out, asking for a second from an ENT) now just "try" and relax, get some sleep and eat a bag of Doritos or..six...

(there's a subtle message above, just in case you're not as smart as I think you are)


Be Well, let us know how it all turns out!

Now where did I put my aromatherapy device again?

Eric

Eric you are seriously crazy!!! and the funny thing is I get it and I love your ideas!! I may be old but I grew up in the 70's baby! Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll...and not necessarily in that order either! hah!
And now that I am older...I am a bit wiser and would never say it was good for me...at least not in these days.
But

Rhart;

Also, don't keep this a secret. Find people to talk about it with. If you keep it to yourself its more scary. Tell your friends/family/etc. The boogy man hates it when you shine light on him.

...oh yeah, also what Eric said.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support so far. It's really meant a lot. I was able to keep my mind off things for much of the day, but seems like the evening was more difficult. Thanks again though.

Rhart,

In all seriousness, if I can be serious that is, we understand brotha. What helped me out was looking at the signatures of the other members of these forums and seeing what they've been through with this disease and knowing that they are still here and posting. In the first three posts on your thread here you have three stage IV survivors answering your question and addressing your fears. Two of those survivors have faced recurrences and are still alive and counting their blessings to be alive.

The first two posters happen to be the ones that helped me see that there was life to be lived no matter what the outcome I faced and were examples to me in my darkest hours. What you should see by those signatures is hope.

I'm a four year survivor my friend and I lost most of my face, half my tongue, my livelihood and really everything I thought that mattered in life with the exception of my family, yet here I am four years later thanking my lucky stars for every minute I have on this planet.

It's going to be OK my friend, you now have people on these forums that can relate to the experience you've gone through and the feelings and trauma caused by it. We should be examples of hope. Now if you need chemical assistance or counseling to help you deal with some of those emotional issues, do whatever you need to do brotha, just know we understand and accept.

Personally I'd say at least try the brownies though, live a little


Eric

Rhart � I�m so glad you found this site. Already you have some wonderful advice above. And it�s good that you are getting things checked out even though it could very well turn out to just be nothing. Only a biopsy can tell for sure if it is cancer. Since your ENT appointment is scheduled for February 6, you don�t have that far to go until you can find out something but when you are waiting for this kind of news, it can seem like an eternity! When my son was waiting for his ENT appointment which was two weeks away, I was a basket case of worry and anxiety! I could barely speak on the phone and tears were always at the surface about to spill over. What I did (because I knew I wouldn�t be able to get anyone to understand me on the phone) was get someone else to call for me. It was a Friday, and the ENT�s office moved the appointment up to the following Monday! I found out later they routinely moved appointments around to accommodate patients and relieve some of their anxiety. Sometimes there are cancellations and they can get you in earlier especially if you can convey to them how much anxiety it is causing you to have to wait. Until you do get in to see the ENT, try to keep busy with something else, outside activities, exercise even if it�s just toe touches so that you can get oxygen to your brain, getting together with friends, volunteering someplace and when the �what ifs� attack, give yourself a time limit like 3 minutes and then force your thoughts to something more positive. If it�s late at night, take 10 slow deep breaths and think only of the breath going in and coming out. If you notice your mind wandering back to negative stuff before you get done with the 10 breaths, start over and add a mantra that means something to you like: Inhale while thinking �Relaxing�, Exhale: �Makes me Sleepy�; Inhale: Two Relaxing, Exhale: Makes me Sleepy etc. Or you could try: Inhale: Money in Large Amounts, Exhale: Flows Freely into My Life, etc.
Whatever happens with the ENT appointment, just know that you can always come back here for the best help and information you could ever find anywhere. You�ve done great so far with getting things checked out early. My son�s cancer was caught fairly early and five years later he is doing just great and better than ever! So let us know what happens with you.