You have seen a highly qualified person at a well-recognized facility. You have no visible to the eye pathology, which while it happens occasionally, is uncharacteristic of an oral cancer. You have had a positive response to antibiotic treatment, which if you had cancer, would have had "0" impact. You have a same side swollen node which would be typical for an infection, since that is where an advanced infection from the described location would drain to. In my opinion, (not having all your test results in front of me, and not being a doctor), you have an infection which was partially resolved by antibiotic treatment, and which may have been completely resolved by longer term exposure to antibiotics or alternative (gram negative or positive) antibiotics. If you had been seen by a generalist in a rural area who does not come across oral cancers very often, I might be more skeptical, but in your case you seem to be on the good side of things. A culture of your throat should give you specific bugs to go after with specific drugs....... If a culture shows no bugs, then you have a new question on your mind. If it isn't bacterial or viral in nature what is it?

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.