Thanks KristenS, sorry to hear of your migraines. I hope you are on the up and up.
Right now I’m feeling pretty worried... honestly, the CT did nothing to alleviate my anxiety. Confirming the presence of “prominent” lymph nodes only has me more worried. It’s as if I was expecting the scan to say “nothing to see but normal anatomy and normally size lymph nodes.” It seems that “prominent” is synonymous with “enlarged”. And the radiologist’s report stating that they are “presumably reactive” is not reassuring. My ENT made a statement to the effect of “they have criteria they follow and if they are at all concerned, they make recommendations for further testing... they have to cover themselves from being sued, ya know?” Then he pointed to the final statement that says the ENT should provide follow-up care. He said “see, that’s how he protects himself in case he’s wrong.” Maybe I misunderstood but I felt like he was contradicting himself.
Someone once told me that if a radiologist reading a mammogram had even a smidgen of uncertainty that they might be looking at something that could be cancer (like 7% or less was the number), they would recommend US and/or biopsy. I don’t know what/if there is any similar criteria in these situations. I wish my ENT had explained to me why an US or biopsy wasn’t necessary in this case. I keep hanging on to 9mm being awfully darn close to the 10mm cut off. Is the suspicion that it’s just reactive based on the size alone? That’s how the report reads. Doesn’t a CT show more than that? I thought it showed composition and shape which are also important. None of this is mentioned in the report.
KristenS, you make a really good point that I have thought about many times myself. People who have oral cancer are a small subset and people who post on boards are an even smaller subset and therefore “missed cases” are rare when looking at the rate of occurrence and the small subsets they happen in.
I just wish my symptoms could be explained better. I’m afraid there is a big note on my file that I have anxiety and just keep smiling and telling me I’m OK. TMJ is the only suggestion that’s been made and I’ve not refuted it but it doesn’t explain every symptom. I’ve had issues with my ears in the past, though never unilaterally. Mainly, pressure issues. My ears click when I swallow lots of liquid and sometimes when I chew (as does my jaw), I have big issues when I fly... during take offs and landings my ears feel like they are going to explode. Not sure if it’s related but I also struggle with motion sickness which I’ve heard can be related to the inner ear. I’ve had issues in the past with impacted cerumen but don’t use qtips as an adult within the ear canal. No issues were noted with my ears by either ENT.
Still feeling neck fullness on the right side today. Haven’t felt the popping sensation (yet) and I told myself I’m not going to feel my lymph nodes today. Trying my hardest to curb my worry until my next visit next week.
