Hello,

OK, so I've dipped tobacco for 30 yrs and recently I've had a sore throat that started Feb 1st that has not improved. Upon looking in my throat with a flashlight last Thursday I noticed the back looked a bit blotchy with a white spot behind my right tonsil. No other symptoms at the moment, no swollen tonsils, glands, lumps, fever, speech changes, etc. Just a few things my mind is creating in psychosomatic fear imo. I took a pic below of the blotchy area. Anyone here familiar with this?

[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/theshawn_photos/20130211_232737_zps96065b20.jpg[/img]

Obviously I quit dipping last Thursday and curse myself for being stubborn this long. If this is throat cancer my daughter and wife will not be happy with me as they have told me for years to quit.

Anyway, I'm in a high deductible HSA health plan and don't want to waste time/$ going to a GP since I don't really have one on account I'm rarely sick. Should I call a ENT office first? Go straight to an oncology clinic for a swab test?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome to OCF!

Im sorry but by seeing a photo I am not able to give much of an opinion. Here on the forum we are fellow patients and caregivers without years medical training. I will still attempt to help you.

I noticed on your tongue it appears to have a white coating, that could be thrush. The bumps look to me like blisters. Since tobacco contains at least 50 known cancer causing chemicals they are bound to eventually irritate the sensitive mouth tissue. There are so many things added to tobacco that can cause problems! One additive is urea which is urine. The way chewing tobacco works is it is engineered to make cuts in a persons gums in order to have the tobacco soak into their bloodstream quickly. Im very glad you have quit your dipping! Im a former smoker and also quit cold turkey. I know its not easy but please try to continue to remain tobacco free, it could save your life.

I would suggest making an appointment to see an ENT who specializes in OC. Any sore you have in your mouth that has been there for 2 weeks or longer needs to be checked by a professional. A biopsy will determine if what you have is cancerous or not. An ENT that sees alot of OC patients should be experienced in diagnosing other oral ailments.

Since you just noticed this it sounds to me like you have caught it early which is good. Try your best to stay busy so you dont worry so much. I know thats a difficult thing to do when you are concerned about something as serious as having cancer. But by worrying it really wont help, it will only make you get more stressed which isnt good for you at all.

Hopefully you dont have anything serious and whatever you have is easily taken care of. Please keep us posted and good luck!

Ditto what Christine said. Hopefully it's not cancer... The coating on your tongue looks like thrush, but some people just have white tongues because they have a lot of calcium (my husband does!) Regardless, you have a problem that needs to be addressed,so I would look a for an ENT as Christine said. Someone who is very familiar with Oral cancer - if they feel it is necessary they can do a biopsy.

best of luck

OK thank you both, I will find a ENT familiar with OC to look me over. I'll post an update on what I find out.

Googling throat cancer definitely scares the crap out of you, it would be nice if there were better pics of various types and stages to help self diagnose a bit better. If mine turns out to be cancer I will definitely be posting more pics of what mine looks like to help others.

Chucky, glad you will go to an ENT to get checked out. Thanks for your offer to post photos but its really not necessary since there already is a photo gallery on the main OCF pages. The photo gallery will surprise you. What you may think must be cancer turns out to be something else.

Click on each photo, then click on diagnosis to see what the person really has.

Photo Gallery




PS... Use caution when using internet searches to help you find a diagnosis. There are way too many false medical things on the internet. OCF abides by Health on the Net Code which ensures correct medical info is written on this website. Very few other medical sites have the honor of being part of this organization and its strict standards.

OK, thanks, I made an appt with an ENT specialits, but they can't get me in until March 15th.

I paid $18 for a question to a doctor on an ehealth site who told me it (the pic above) looked like some thrush (candidiasis) and could be because my immune system is being taxed by a cancer of the throat.

If this is true and there is something back there somewhere, will waiting a month to see the doc be a problem? Or should I look elsewhere to get in sooner? Thoughts?

Thanks.

I can't emphasize enough how right-on Christine is about using caution when using the internet to find a diagnosis! When my son was first diagnosed with SCC, just looking up stuff on the internet scared the you-know-what out of me! Luckily by the time my son had surgery and was in his Radiation Tx, we found this forum which has been a God send for us. Only a biopsy can tell for sure whether a suspicious area in your mouth is cancer, please DO get to an ENT who has extensive experience treating Oral Cancer patients. Waiting a month to see the ENT can be very stressful! If you are confident this ENT has the proper experience, I would push for an earlier appointment mainly to avoid the stress of waiting. After my son saw an Oral surgeon, and set up an appoint two weeks away with the ENT, I was a basket case of worrying about it but my Ex-daughter-in-law seeing how stressed I was offered to call and she got the appointment moved up to the next business day (from Friday to Monday). They can move things around to fit you in or when someone else cancels an appointment. Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt to see what other ENT's are available to get you in sooner. Hang in there Chucky and let us know how you are doing.

Yep, internet searches bad. Doctors good.

I scared myself silly after I was diagnosed, sure that I was going to die from this, which clearly has not been the case.

I was smoker, and promptly quit.

Try a dentist for a checkup - that's how I was initially diagnosed, and should be covered under your health plan.

Stuff like this reminds that I am really happy to be in Canada. Cost never even occurred to me throughout.

I hope that was a doctor for $18.? Anyway, there are many other reasons for Candidiasis (thrush), which is easily treatable, but could have co-involvement, so as mentioned, see an ENT or another that is available sooner for a proper diagnosis, and not Dr. Google. Good luck.

Try and move the appointment up if you can call and ask to be put on a waiting list.

OK thank you all. I will call to see if I can get it pushed up as yes, the thought of waiting a month isn't fun. Especially since I am not telling anyone else about it until I know something firm. No sense in scaring my family and friends with my worry before an actual diagnosis.

This ENT no longer does surgery but has been doing it for 40+ years so I think he'll have knowledge in this area. I asked the woman I spoke with about throat cancer and she suggested him over the other two at this practice. I may still call another ENT practice to discuss and try for earlier appt.

Thanks for the input y'all.

Chucky,
Call every morning, and be VERY polite when you ask if there has been a cancellation and if they can fit you in.
Best of luck!
Maria

Good point about being very polite with the office assistants or nurses. If you make a point of remembering their names, it's good too. That way when you call you can mention who said what or ask for them by name and establish a more personal relationship. You might be talking to someone that can reschedule someone else's appointment to get you in sooner. That is what my son's ENT's office did. Later, after they rescheduled someone else's appointment so that my son could see him sooner, and a bit later in his treatment they would call me to see if the appointment we had could be moved a little later to accommodate someone else and of course we always said Yes - we were so grateful that we got in when it was so urgent for us to do so in the beginning. So - good luck with that. Hope you get a much earlier appointment!

I called a different local ENT office that has 10+ ENT doctors in it and was able to get in March 6th. Plus all the docs in this office are in my Health Plan network where only 1 of the three in the other office were.

I feel better knowing I'll have some answers and direction in two weeks vs. 3 and a half. I'll definitely post an update on what I/they/we find out.

Thanks again.

Right on Chuck!

Way to look for answers my friend. We have to be our own advocates and push to find those answers, and when we run into obstacles or answers we feel don't fit the needs of how we want our life to go, we look for another solution. Never stop doing that my friend.

Good luck brotha, keep us posted.

Well I had the appt last Wednesday and the doctor said it looked like a tonsil stone was causing irritation/inflamation to my throat. He didn't look deep into my throat by scoping though, just the normal flat stick and ahhhww type thing and some poking around. Said my neck felt fine and he saw no reason to panic and I didn't have throat cancer.

Needless to say I'm relieved of course. Although my throat still doesn't feel 100% yet it does seem to get a bit better as days go by. I did find it amazing how much fear and anxiety effected me over the course of these weeks though. The mind is a powerful thing!

I'm still a bit paranoid and he suggested I see him in another 6 months, probably just to allay my fears.

Even if in the next couple weeks I feel back to 100% and this was all just a big scare, I'm still done dipping. It's been 33 days since my last dip and I don't miss/crave it. 30 yrs was long enough.

I do have to get an MRI because of hearing loss in my right ear that started 9 yrs ago. So if he missed anything hopefully this will catch it.

Thanks to you all for all the input/support and encouragement. It definitely helped! If I ever do have to come back or know anyone dealing with this I'll definitely be telling them about this place!

Great news and what a relief.
Wonderful stuff on the " no dipping" too.
Enjoy life,
Tammy

Awesome!!!

Good news!