Hi~

I have a very small lump in a lymph node on the side of my neck (1 cm). I went to my primary physician who was very concerned and felt it should be looked at right away by an ENT.

I assumed it was related to the thyroid problems I had been having the past few months, however, the ENT spent a lot of time looking down my throat.

He put me on antibiotics for a week to see if that would change the node - but it did not.

I also did an MRI which should several nodes 7mm and under and then the one node at 1cm. It did not find anything else abnormal in the mouth/naso areas. The node that is 1 cm receives its drainages (don't know if I'm wording that correctly) from the tongue, soft palate and the throat. Besides that fact, the reason why I am suddenly concerned about an oral cancer is because I have had this recurring "pimple" (that's what it feels like with my tongue) in my mouth where the hard and soft palate come together. I have given it only brief thought in the past six months because I thought it was odd to have this thing come and go in the same spot all of the sudden. I wasn't worried about it though. Now I wonder if that could be a problem.

My question is this - does there have to be a lump of something that the MRI could pick up - or could oral cancer be this discreet?

I had breast cancer 9 years ago at the age of 28. I had a bilateral mastectomy and chemo. I have to say, it was nothing compared to what I have read here - you people are amazing!

I would greatly appreciate any feedback - I am going in and out of panic mode.

Thanks!