I had some weird things start about a year and a half ago. First it started with this feeling of something in the back left top part of my throat that. Then shortly after it started to become painful, like a sore throat, but not really a sore throat, just a feeling of pain in that area. Also, i am always clearing my throat alot.

So i went to my GP and was sent to an ENT.

Since then i have seen three different ENT's and have had some tests done. One ENT was at Sloan Kettering, I went there because i read that they are very good. In the course of a year and a half i have had two ct scans about eight months apart. Also, a barium swallow test and have had a scope up my nose serveral times. None of these tests have found anything.

At that point i deceided to wait awhile and see if it would go away. It has been about seven months since i have been back to any doctors and still have the same sypmtoms. The only thing i found different is when i out my finger in my mouth and feel up begind my uvula in the back top of my throat that is were i feel pain.

What did the doctors at MSKCC have to say? No speculation about what could be causing this? What continuing follow up have they recommended? Lastly, if you are near a dental school (NYU would be a great choice) they have an oral medicine specialist there. (eMail me for a direct contact name if you like) and this is someone that would be able to explore this from a different perspective, as well as oral cancer related. After dental school they have two more years of oral clinical pathology (not microscope work) and are really good at sorting out these hard to diagnose cases.

After my first visit to Sloan he told me to follow up with my local ENT and if anything progressed or if symptoms continued to come back. So for the next eight months i did follow up with my local ENT. I went to see him about once a month and he scoped me every time. He aslo did reccomend I have a Barium Swallow test and it did show i had moderate acid reflux. So i tried reflux meds for awhile and still had the same symptoms. So the local ENT asked me what i wanted to do. I told him i would like another CT scan and i was going to go back to Sloan as that doctor there had advised me.

On my second visit the doctor at Sloan said basically that if it was cancer that i would have had other symptoms as it progressed or it would have shown growth between the periods when he saw me last. Because i had two ct scans done about eight months apart and it did not show anything, that there was no growth. Also, he had scoped me and taken pictures on the two times he saw me and there was no change. His exact words were "thats what cancer does, it grows". He did speculate that it could be allergy related as he said my throat appeared red from a post nasal drip. I went to an allergist and found none. Tried some nasal spray for awhile and nothing.

After the second visit he did not reccomend any follow up. He said that allergies can last a lifetime.

So that was back on 1/16/06 and i have not been back to a doctor since. The sypmtoms dont seem much worse, but about the same.

I am always clearing my throat and have done this before my sypmtoms started. The symptoms do seem to get slightly better for a few days at a time but then get worse again.

Also, I am 36 years old and I do have HPV. Also, have smoked for about ten years. I have recently stopped though.

My dentist did tell me that i needed to have my wisdom teeth removed awhile ago but i have not done so yet. I dont see how that could be related.

So thats were i am. Personally i dont think it's allergies, Reflux or tooth related.

I am getting really nervous reading all the stories of people going misdiagnosed.

Those people didn't go to Sloan-Kettering. If they said it wasn't cancer, I think you can be pretty confident it isn't.