i am a 31 year old male with no previous history of a serious illness and i only smoke/drink socially

It all began when i got really sick and had a very swollen throat 4 months ago which i did not have checked. Since then I've had a sore throat that comes and goes. First it began as a discomfort(no pain) when swallowing saliva. I went to an ENT and after taking some allergy and anti-inflammatory medication it went away but in its place i had a sore throat on the right side of my throat. I visited again and was prescribed a 3 day antibiotic. After that it didn't go away so i visited another ENT who said i may have lemphadenitis and prescribed different antibiotics for 1 week. The throat pain ceased and in its place i got a clicking whenever i swallowed.

Then i had tooth-work done to fix 2 frontal teeth and i have been stitched and taking different antibiotics to prevent infection since last week. So, now the clicking when i swallow is almost gone but again i have throat pain which comes and goes, again on the right side. Also, i have noticed that 2 of my lymph nodes seem a bit hard on the right side of my neck in the back but not enlarged enough to show without searching for them. The lymph node(or that's what i think it is) next to my larynx feels soft and painful to the touch but not enlarged either. I generally feel the right side of my throat a bit sensitive and since a couple of days ago i wake up with a sore Jaw at the right side next to my ear which seems to be persisting and i have had a stiff neck since months ago but this may be due to me sitting on the computer for long hours due to my work.

So far i have had 2 Laryngoscopies which showed nothing and had allergy/anti inflammatory and 3x types of antibiotics over the span of a month and a half.

The set of symptoms i have has been persisting or changing throughout a period of 4 months. Apart from those i haven't observed any other symptoms. Both ENT that i visited suggested that it can be related to allergies and one of them mentioned lemphadenitis and said that if my second row of antibiotics doesn't help i should do an ultrasound/biopsy. So, in a few days i'll have an ultrasound or MRI if i don't see any improvements with my issues.

I fear that this could be something serious, like oral cancer.

Anyone experiencing a similar set of symptoms or have an idea on what could be causing them?
Also, What information would be revealed from the MRI or ultrasound and which one would you suggest that i do?

Thanks in advance

MY only advice is to STOP SMOKING, socially or not!!!!!! Do you know how many people come to this site and end up DIEING because they smoked??? Stop and see if that helps.

[quote=davidcpa]MY only advice is to STOP SMOKING, socially or not!!!!!! Do you know how many people come to this site and end up DIEING because they smoked??? Stop and see if that helps. [/quote]

Thanks for your advice . When i mentioned smoking i meant once a week or even more rarely. Off-course now it's out of the question.

It sounds to me like a rampant infection however push until you be a definitive answer you are not too young to have cancer - not that I think it is but jut that some drs think that it's an older person's smokers and drinkers disease.good luck on the MRI.. Which btw is better than an ultrasound...

[quote=Cheryld]It sounds to me like a rampant infection however push until you be a definitive answer you are not too young to have cancer - not that I think it is but jut that some drs think that it's an older person's smokers and drinkers disease.good luck on the MRI.. Which btw is better than an ultrasound... [/quote]

Thank you for the response.

General question: Do symptoms of oral cancer come and go from one day to another? For example, yesterday my throat was giving me a lot of pain but today i can barely feel it. I am planning to have a scan regardless..

No usually oral cancer symptomology is persistent - though some are actually painless. This isn't 100% of course because with cancer there are no absolutes and we are all individuals. But cancer generally doesn't "get better" do have the scan it should highlight any areas of trouble. Best of luck.

[quote=athosprv]

General question: Do symptoms of oral cancer come and go from one day to another? For example, yesterday my throat was giving me a lot of pain but today i can barely feel it. I am planning to have a scan regardless.. [/quote]

My experience was no pain. I first noticed swollen lymph nodes on the left side of my neck last August that came up with a sinus infection. Two rounds of antibiotics didn't get rid of them. They weren't painful at all, just hard.

I was Dx'd Nov. 30th 2012. At that point the glands were approx. 2cm. By the time they did the surgery (Feb 7th - selective neck dissection) they had grown to approx. 5cm. Just prior to the surgery I was feeling discomfort as they were putting pressure on areas inside my neck. I could feel a fullness and some slight pain on a regular basis but up until that point, other than seeing the swelling, there was no pain.

"T"

[quote=fishmanpa][quote=athosprv]

General question: Do symptoms of oral cancer come and go from one day to another? For example, yesterday my throat was giving me a lot of pain but today i can barely feel it. I am planning to have a scan regardless.. [/quote]

My experience was no pain. I first noticed swollen lymph nodes on the left side of my neck last August that came up with a sinus infection. Two rounds of antibiotics didn't get rid of them. They weren't painful at all, just hard.

I was Dx'd Nov. 30th 2012. At that point the glands were approx. 2cm. By the time they did the surgery (Feb 7th - selective neck dissection) they had grown to approx. 5cm. Just prior to the surgery I was feeling discomfort as they were putting pressure on areas inside my neck. I could feel a fullness and some slight pain on a regular basis but up until that point, other than seeing the swelling, there was no pain.

"T"

[/quote]

were your glands visible when you discovered them?

Thank you

[quote=athosprv][quote=fishmanpa][quote=athosprv]
were your glands visible when you discovered them?

Thank you [/quote]


In August when I first felt the swollen glands, you couldn't see them unless I tilted my head a certain way. By November when I was Dx'd you could clearly see them. By February before the surgery it looked like I had the mumps on the left side of my neck. It was as if once the cancer was discovered, it got pissed off and started growing rapidly.

Did the ENTs you went to do a fine needle biopsy?

"T"

[quote=fishmanpa][quote=athosprv][quote=fishmanpa]


In August when I first felt the swollen glands, you couldn't see them unless I tilted my head a certain way. By November when I was Dx'd you could clearly see them. By February before the surgery it looked like I had the mumps on the left side of my neck. It was as if once the cancer was discovered, it got pissed off and started growing rapidly.

Did the ENTs you went to do a fine needle biopsy?

"T"[/quote]

hey T,

I just returned from my ultrasound test. The radiologist there scanned all the area of my front neck and thyroid and i also pinpointed the location where i thought that my lymph nodes are hard, so he scanned there as well.

He said that it looks like nothing serious; just a small inflammation of my lymph nodes and that an infection, especially if viral could take a long time to heal.

I have scheduled to see my ENT later today to show him the ultrasound scans. My guess is that i will be prescribed another round of antibiotics.

I have not had a fine needle biopsy yet but its on my mind...