Hi, Trese.
I work as a medical professional, but I am not a physician. It sounds to me that after seeing 8 different doctors, none of them have been on the same page. In other words, when you have that many practitioners working out of different facilities, the lack of communication can be a huge problem. This is YOUR body we're talking about. Nothing should be dismissed until it is further investigated. As others have said, the swollen lymph node and ear pain are the most concerning symptoms. Unfortunately, a diagnosis cannot be made without analyzing a tissue sample. I agree that a lymph node biopsy seems like a reasonable start, but again, I am not a doctor. As far as the tongue changes are concerned, I would think at least one of the doctors you have seen by now has cultured your tounge. If so, what were the results? I developed a white, hairy tongue after my partial glossectomy. It is common in those who are on soft/liquid diets for extended periods of time and the cells on the surface of the tongue proliferate due to lack of roughage, which normally kind of "exfoliates" the tongue. I never had it before and I have never been a smoker or a drinker. When I was in the hospital recovering from my surgery, the doctors thought I had a wound infection at my neck dissection site, so they had an infectious disease specialist come in to evaluate me. She asked to look inside my mouth and saw that I had a white tongue and immediately said that I had thrush. I replied, no it's not thrush, I just have been drinking vanilla ensure and it was hard to clear my secretions, so my tongue was white. So, my point is in MANY situations you cannot just "look" at something and make a diagnosis. To me that is not thorough and it's dismissive on the practitioner's part. It is extremely important that the doctor get a FULL, accurate history from you. Things that you may not consider relevant in your medical history may be key to the doctor. The history will help lead the doctor to the next reasonable step in the diagnostic process.

I would suggest the following steps to get yourself organized for a second opinion from an ENT. Of course, this can all be done in the days leading up the your appointment. Don't wait until you have all of the records before you make an appointment. Time is prescious when it comes to making an early diagnosis if it is oral cancer. You should not have to wait more than a week or two for a consultation. If you can't get in sooner, see if your PCP can call and influence them to squeeze you in sooner. If that doesn't work, go somewhere else.

Get ALL of your medical records from each practitioner that you saw. Tell them you want every test report, lab work, consultation notes, progress notes/follow up notes. Often if you ask for copies of your medical records, you will only get office notes. You have a legal right to all of the information as long as you sign a medical release form. You might need to give them a week or so to provide these materials and there may be a charge for them. It depends on the facility. They really shouldn't be charging you for your records if you are seeking another opinion. BTW, any practitioner that balks at your getting a second or third opinion should be red-flagged in your book. A good medical professional should enocourage and welcome the notion of you seeking another opinion.

Once you have all of your records, try to organize them as best you can both chronologically and by practitioner. Ask the office if they would like you to forward your records ahead of time so they can be reviewed. As always, be sure to keep copies for yourself.

Next and most importantly, get yourself a notebook and write down every single question and concern that you have. When you see the doctor, things tend to just fly right out of your head and you forget things that are important that you wanted to ask. I advise all of my patients to do this when visiting a doctor. Doctors are faced with the challenge of seeing patients every 5-10 minutes, so some are rushing out the door before you can get your questions in. If you go in armed with questions, the doctor is much less likely to leave until they have all been answered. Just tell the doctor up front that you have some questions/concerns written down and anything that doesn't come up during his interview/exam, you'd like to have a chance to ask after he/she is finished. My advice is to prioritize them in case you can't get through all of them in one visit, but in most cases, you should be able to get through them all or a nurse/resident/fellow can answer them for you as well.

I wish you the best of luck in this scary process. Of course, all of us here hope that it is nothing serious and that you can get an accurate diagnosis and effective, appropriate treatment. Please keep us posted and feel free to ask any and all questions you may have. We may not have all the answers, but all of us have been through so much and can share our experience, strength, and hope.

With care,
Kerri