Hello everybody, I had an operation some four months ago and was bioptically diagnosed with cancer of the vocal cords - after the CT they said T2NOMO - then I had 20 radiotherapy sessions. Everything seemed to go on well until some three weeks ago when I started feeling a sort of lump inside my neck - I feel it there all the time - it very rarely changes position, or so it feels. I went to see my doctors - both the throat therapist and the oncologist, I complained about my latest symptom and they never seemed to worry. The former showed me my perfectly white and clean vocal cords on a monitor ans was pretty satisfied with the way things looked(!?), the latter just used the mirror to look inside my throat and said that whatever I might feel inside must be a reaction to radiotherapy. He sent me home with the advice that I should forget everything that happened to me.
There is no need to say how stressed I am every morning when I wake up and realise my lump, or whatever it is, hasn't gone. What do you, the others, think I should do in the situation?
Thank you for paying any attention to this.

Lavinia,
It is pretty common to have many different sorts of phantom pains and feelings after radiation and/or surgery. Nerves get damaged in this process. Even post nasal drip can give the feeling of something caught in the throat. You did the right thing, had a direct visualization. It is also common to be either a nervous wreck and/or clinically depressed post Tx -we can all relate to that! You can have some comfort that you are being followed at intervals short enough that if something WERE to occur that it could be dealt with in a timely manner. 4 months is still pretty close to your end of treatment date. It took a long time for my throat to heal post Tx. Radiation is a month of recovery for every week of radiation.

A clean "scope" is pretty much a "gold standard" exam.

If this is disrupting your sleep patterns or causes you anxiety I would recommend seeing mental health and get some help for that.

I just started taking "sleepers", 3 1/2 years out, for my own sleep disorders as a result of my cancer adventure. I am not embarrassed to admit that I am certifiably crazy as a result of this disease.

Gary, I don't know why I did not write immediately in response to your prompt and most encouraging message. I suppose I was waiting for others to possibly join. Your message brought a first spark of joy in months - someone does understand how I feel!
The soreness in the throat hasn't gone yet, but now I'm more confident it is a matter of time and nothing else. I've had some blood tests as well and the results do not look very bad. I sometimes have sleepless nights or get nightmares if I do sleep, but I want to postpone taking "sleepers" if I can help it. But that doesn't make me less crazy because of having to confront the disease.
I'm really looking up to you for having thought of putting us all in a family. For a diseased person can no longer communicate with the healthy - they no longer have a common code. I hope I do not sound very depressed.

Lavinia,
if you are not depressed or suffering from some form of anxiety I would be more worried about you. Your reaction is normal and to be expected. I took anti-anxiety drugs for months and still do on occasion. They really help.

You don't necessarily have to go all out with the anti-psychotics/depressants like Paxil, Zoloft or Prozac.

In fact recent literature that I have read is cautioning that these drugs are overprescribed and the doctors are not following the patients closely enough for the side effects. Some of these require regular blood test. They should be managed by a psychiatrist and not a gp or other non psych specialist. The simplest approach should taken first much like treating any other disease.

And, yes, otherwise healthy so called normal people just can't get into our heads to experience what we know. That's why we are here - we are walking in your shoes.