Hi

Can anyone help?

I have had pain in my neck for a while, think its due to lymph on left side being enlarged for a while now, but also have ear pain for months too.

Its weird cause in march i thought i had a lump in the floor of my mouth and kept getting at it and there was an ulcer on top of where i thought the lump was. Saw a maxillofacial oncologist who said the lump is probably just my duct, nothing odd, we all have lumpy mouths but he biopsied the ulcer as it hung around for months. Results were good, negative for cancer.

However, with the neck pain been exploring area and found that left neck gland is soft on right side but hard and lumpy left side where the pain is coming from. I also feel like my left ear has dried out i side.

I was a smoker, and i am 31. However, i crunched nicotine mints up in my mouth for two years trying to kick the habit and i am really paranoid that perhaps this has given me cancer in my salivary gland.

Can anyone advise?

Tam x

It sounds like a thorough oral cancer screening should be able to help you. If your symptoms have been there for 2 weeks or longer without getting better then seek out a professional to get checked out.

Best wishes!

Hi christine

My neck and ear have been bothering me for months, since february. I feel a bit let down by the doctors and the surgeon to be honest as i could feel so something amiss in my floor of mouth and he just said normal duct. The gp never sent me to ent??? Just an ultrasound. Any idea what ultrasounds can actually pick up? What was the point in that?

Thanks for replying x

I would push to see the ENT they are the person who would dx anything like this. If you can't get a referral (which really shouldn't be an issue) Then take the long way around,a dentist can refer you to dental surgeon - they too can do biopsies. hugs.

The ultrasound is superior in certain aspects than any other diagnostc scan such as in nodal involvement than the PET, CT, MRI. I just did one last week for a cervical neck lymph node, after a PET/CT scan. Each of the diagnostc scans are sometimes used interchangeably or to show more detail depending on area, and what they're looking for. When I was diagnosed, a salivary stone was found in the duct in floor of my mouth also. I don't recall off hand, which scan showed it or if it was the ENT's palpable exam, combination. As mentioned, see an ENT who sees hundreds, if not thousands of patients with similar symptoms. Good luck.

Get a CT scan to go with the ultrasound and see the ENT. He should do the fine needle biopsy on your neck. With these three items and his expertise you should get some answers. The neck growth, ear pain are familiar symptoms in my case. I went through same frustrations and could have been treated a year earlier. You have to drive the car if you know what I mean.

Thanks for advice cheryl, paul, and james xxx

Hi all

Saw the gp today, she felt the hard lump on the left of my neck glands think its submandimular or sublingual area?? Anyway she says yep most definately a hard lump attached in there. Felt my lymph node on same side and said proabably needs a biopsy as been there sometime. Cant believe this, saw a head and neck oncologist and had ult sound in march and here i am six months later! 31 years old with a five year old who i love dearly, im really despairing. All i can think of is how. Chewed nicotine lozenges for two years.

Being sent for chest x ray although lungs sound clear, she wants to see if there is an infection causing this firm mass and enlarged node then to ent. I just dont get why the oncolgist didnt do an x ray with dye when i thought i had a lump in mu mouth in the corresponding area, now a lump appears in the gland underneath.

Anyone experieced something in this area?

Xxx

Try not to dwell on the past and the what ifs. Many of us tried to get a dx for months. We started our journey in early April and did not have a dx until mid July. The everything moved very quickly. Course by then it was Stage IV.
Be persistent about trying to get things done quickly. You just sometimes have to be a little pushy.
We are here for you. Sorry you have to be here. Remember also that you don't know anything for sure without the biopsy.
Hang in there,
Kathy

Kathy

Thanks very much for getting back to me, it is a comfort. I have been turned away with the neck pain several times made to feel a hyperchondriac. Thank god i got a new doctor at a new practice and she acted on it straight away. Felt the mass within seconds and noticed the lymph too. Was honest that she couldnt say what it was and scheduled a chest x ray just to rule out lung infection too. She is also doing bloods so i should be thankful and i am. I just cant help thinking about those lozenges, i wanted to have tests done after i stopped my two year addiction to them but tests for what? There was nothing to test!! Just my paranoia and some ghastly side effects. I have been very positive getting on with things everyday and being a dedicated and happy homemaker and mother but i cant see what a firm mass in my gland attached to my gland and effecting my vocal cords could be, other than cancer.

I write in on this site when i had biopsy of my ulcer and saw an oncologist thinking there was a lump in my mouth at the same site in march and think its a brilliant site with amazing people. Thank god for sharing. X