History:

Had sore throat beginning about January 1, 2018. Difficult swallowing. Symptoms are localized to the left side of my throat. Hoarse voice with frequent throat clearing. Went to GP who diagnosed viral tonsillitis after strep test came back negative.

Symptoms subside but never disappear. See ENT at end of January 2018 who performs nasendoscopy. He doesn't find anything other than some potential allergies.

Symptoms persist and in addition, begin to experience strong nosebleeds. Go back to ENT about three weeks later and he cauterizes blood vessel and dismisses it as seasonal allergies/dry air.

Unconvinced, I seek a second opinion and go to another ENT about 2 weeks later. He performs another nasendoscosy and sees no indication of cancer. He notes a ton of sinus drainage, allergy symptoms, and blood on my vocal cords which he states is from trauma (i.e. getting hit or yelling). Nosebleeds have ceased since cauterization and in my head, the past nosebleeds could be the cause of blood on my vocal cords.

Fast forward another 4 weeks to the present and in the past week, three lymph nodes on the left side of my neck suddenly become swollen. They are all fairly rubbery, moveable, and painless. Return to ENT and he is relatively unconcerned. He basically said it looks like an infection of some sort and if they get bigger or don't shrink in the next month, we can do a biopsy. Only thing is, I don't have any other symptoms of an infection. My symptoms continue to persist (i.e. sore throat, throat clearing, strange sensation when swallowing.)

Further information; I believe I am at high risk for HPV-linked tonsil cancer. I'm 32 and in otherwise good health (just had my annual physical and nothing came back as imbalanced). My ex-girlfriend had a high risk strain of HPV (not sure exactly which one) but she had pre-cancerous cells removed prior to my knowledge about the risk it presents to men. I smoked for about 10 years but have not in almost a year. I drink alcohol, not excessively, but fairly regularly. Maybe I'm crazy but my history and symptoms seem to strongly correlate to HPV-Linked throat cancer.

My questions are as follows:

1) Are 2 separate nasendoscopys with no indications of cancer enough? Should I stop worrying?

2) What other tests can be done to diagnose throat cancer? CT Scan, MRI, PET Scan? Can I demand to have these done?

3) Should I demand a biopsy on the swollen lymph nodes or sit tight and wait? To me, a fine needle biopsy is a pretty minimal procedure that would go a long way in putting my mind at ease. I find it strange that the doctor recommended waiting to do it, but maybe there is something I am missing.

Thank you for any informatin you might provide. I feel blind stumbling around a maze as my body continues to feel off and none of the doctors seem to take me seriously.