Just thought I would update here about MRI after doing some digging. I have been told by a radiologist that contrast is usually only used:
1) post surgery
2) if there is a previous history of cancer to find very small tumors that most likely wouldn't cause symptoms
3) to further investigate a finding on images initially taken without contrast.

In my case I believe because I have no history of cancer and the initial images did not show anything that warranted further investigation.

I was also told that CT scans are less accurate than MRI scans. If a finding shows up on a CT then it will definitely show up on the MRI and possibly more. Having said that this all comes down to the skill of the radiologist. I'm going to take all my scans to a friend who is a radiologist and have them looked over again. Then I am back at my ENT. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this soon.

Thanks

Hi again

I saw another ENT yesterday (so thats 4 now) who said my symptoms are not suggestive of anything sinister and the CT, MRI and ultrasound scans that I have had done support that this is the case. He looked in my mouth and ears, felt around my neck but diddid not scope me. The other 3 did however and could not find anything.

He suggested that the thickening of my mucus could have been triggered by a viral infection (which I did have towards the end of september that was quite bad) and its a matter of wait and see. I've been put on Avamys for 1 month to see if anything changes. He basically wants to manage the symptoms and said it could be lifelong.

Thanks so much for all your help with this. For now I am going to enjoy the lead up to the wedding and then 2 weeks on my honeymoon in the Cook Islands.

Awesome... have a great time... ;o)

Great to see that you have been so proactive with your issues.
Hopefully all is good and you can now enjoy your wedding.
I think the Cook Islands is a great choice for a honeymoon.
Relax and enjoy
Gabriele

dear JJMARTIN

I am totally with you on this. I have been reading this forum from time to time and when I spotted your post, the conditions you describe seem identical to mine.

I have had mild pain to the right side of my throat and the glue like saliva which becomes better or worse from time to time, over the last year and a half or so.

So far I have had
- meetings with 2x GP's, 3x ENTS
- 4x Laryngoscopies
- Ultrasound
- Anti-fungals
- 4-5 kinds of Antibiotics
- NO DIAGNOSIS! (Apart from one ENT who said its Globus. When I told him i don't feel anything inside my throat and asked him why do I have skicky saliva that makes me gag he said its purely psychological and he sees people with it every day. Then he proceeded to quickly wrap up my case and send me home. Another doctor told me I should just live with it.
- Some doctors will call this "Globus Hystericus". That is NOT a diagnosis and merely a way for them to say they don't know what it is so its your mind causing it. Take those words with a grain of salt.

Trust me, it's not gonna be easy figuring out what could be causing this and some doctors will just not want to spend the time since it doesn't look serious to them.

Some things I have found out over the year:
- Dairy seems to make the glue saliva feeling worse
- Exercise also seems to make it worse.
- When I travel back home, it seems that the glue saliva decreases dramatically while the pain on the right side of my throat worsens.
- There are times where, right after eating something the glue like feeling makes me gag or even throw up. Strepsils help a lot!!!
This makes me think that there may be an environmental factor. Symptoms change on Warm, Dry climate (Mediterranean) vs wet, humid (UK)


Let me also refer you to my post last may:

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=164784&#Post164784

Perhaps we can combine our experiences and come up with at least a viable way to live with it, or even eventually figure out what could be the cause of this

Good luck with your honeymoon, I am getting married soon as well.

Best,
A

Hi A,

Globus Hystericus is a diagnosis indicative of GAD. With the number of tests and doctors you've seen they would have found something sinister. If in fact this was sinister, you would be pretty ill be now based on your OP last year. I hope you get to the root of the issue and find relief.

Positive thoughts

Hi fishmanpa,

Indeed so, if it was something sinister, it would have gone progressively worse since last year. It is none the less something that more and more people seem to be developing over time and there hasn't been a clear diagnosis.

I am definitely trying to find the root of the issue. Just letting JJMARTIN know that its likely something that is not serious.

I read your post today fishmanpa. Positive thoughts!

Thanks for the posts athosprv. I'm back from my honeymoon now and feeling a little refreshed. Wedding was amazing.

My symptoms did not seem to change when transition from a dry hot climate to a humid hot climate. The mucus is really annoying. Doc says its post nasal drip. My response was post nasal drip isn't a disease its a symptom of a disease and besides that it doesn't drip, it just sits there until I hawk it up. I told him I was sick and tired of the run around I have been given and demanded a sputum sample be taken and tested. I'm going to get this result Thursday.

Not long after the MRI I noticed a small lump on the back of my neck near my hairline. GP told me it is an enlarged occipital node and not likely related to my current symptoms. Its been there for about 5 weeks, its soft, somewhat mobile and painless. I've scheduled a meeting with my ENT this Friday just in case. I'm not letting him send me on my way until he has written me a referral for an MRI of my throat and sinus with contrast and specific instructions to look to cancer.

I'm armed with a lot of info on throat cancer specifically HPV related throat cancer because if I have it it is probably that. I feel the best way to see through any BS the ENT uses to get me out of the door is to be informed. I've read countless journal articles now and grabbed as much information as I can.

I feel happy all my tests have come back negative but also feel that I really need to pursue this until I feel comfortable not the ENT and GP. That is also the advice I have drawn from this forum and people I have spoken to about it.

Hi from Brisbane JJ. I'm no expert but this is a very common type of cancer and it something any ENT would diagnose every day.

I Googled myself to death during my diagnosis. Survival prognosis, complications, treatment side effects, and worst of all of course is doing image searches. I came to the conclusion Google can't help you with the diagnosis but can do a great job scaring the pants off you. There are cancer factors that might look like they fit your case but often there are other factors that may not be in that article that the ENT uses to eliminate that diagnosis.

I've found Google can be useful for processing and understanding what the doctor is telling you. There is a LOT of information and concepts to absorb with cancer treatments.

You can always get a second opinion, but I'd be very surprised if an Australian ENT specialist did all those tests and missed something as common as a HPV cancer.

Thanks Dave, I've been to 3 ENT's now, 4 if you include the one at the emergency dept at the hospital.

I think what I need to do is ask the ENT why is cancer not being investigated more thoroughly. I'm sure they have their reasons.

The reason they have given me so far is that my symptoms are not suggestive of cancer... Then I google them and they are. Then I think maybe I told the ENT the wrong description of my symptoms which led to them thinking this. When the ENT says things like your too young and healthy to have cancer I get frustrated because from what I have read it is a very real possibility at my age. It makes me think they are not taking things seriously and possibly overlooking things.

I'd like to hear your story Dave, particularly how you came to be diagnosed. What alerted you to go to the doctor etc. I've also read that HPV throat cancer is much more responsive to treatment with a much better prognosis 75%+ 5 year survival (obviously this is on a case by case).

Cheers
J.