Hi there,
I have been suffering with a right sided sore throat for a year now. I have been to an ENT 6 times. He has done a scope 3 times, the last one being a few months ago. I had the pain when he did it. I had a ct of the neck and head done last October, a neck ultrasound, a neck x-ray, blood work and I think thats it. My ent says I have debris collecting in my right tonsil but he doesn't want to remove them. I'm 33 by the way. He says if I had cancer in my tonsil or throat he would have seen it. He said he won't even do a biopsy because he doesn't see any abnormal tissue that he could biopsy. I am still scared. My neck on that side hurts a bit, my throat (most of the time), it has gone away for maybe a week or two, but always comes back. I can see white stuff in that tonsil sometimes but I have picked them out and that tonsil still hurts. Sometimes my ear hurts too. I don't know what to think, the ent seems like a really thorough doctor, he doesn't feel any lumps in my neck which is quite thin. He said, not always, but most time there is a lump in the neck with these types of cancers. With the tests that I have had, would cancer most likely have been seen. I should mention that the tonsil that is giving me the problem is a bit smaller than the other one. The ent said if it were cancer it would be larger not smaller.
Thanks for any insight,
Michelle

Given all the testing that you have been through, cancer would surely have been detected if there were something there to see. The fact that your symptoms persist is not right. It could be an indication of infection, and this should be explored further. I would ask the doctor for a referral to another doctor for a second opinion. This should not offend him, and actually given that he cannot find the cause of your discomfort or symptoms, something that he should have done anyway. If he seems reluctant at all, just get another ENT on your own to review all that has been done to this stage. While what you are experiencing likely isn't cancer, it is something.... I had two doctors unable to give me a proper diagnosis, before I finally went to the final guy who got it right. Another set of eyes, ideas, and opinions is worth the peace of mind.

Could the white stuff in my tonsil be causing the sore throat? It is more sore since I started picking them out. Thank you for saying you doubt it is cancer. That is what the ent keeps telling me. He does think it is my tonsil, but doesn't want to remove them. He feels the pain of surgery and the risks would be worse than my constant sore throat. I have heard that the scope through the nose usually would detect a tumor or cancer in the throat, especially when you have pain. I guess it is a good sign that he didn't see anything then.
Thank you for your input. My stepfather just finished treatments for throat cancer and is in remission. I just lost my mother to cancer in January. I am very scared. Mother of 4.

You might try having an oral surgeon look at it the next time instead of an ENT.....different training and perspective.

Michelle, there may be some comfort in knowing that there are other things that your symptoms are caused by. Many of us that have had a cancer diagnosis, had no symptoms at all. I agree with Brian in that you should seek other opinions about your symptoms but do not fear the worst. None of us here are able at a distance nor qualified to say what it is you are having problems with. Follow through with at least several opinions about your symptoms. Let us know how it comes out.

It's me again, still having the same throat problems. It's now been over a year. Right sided sore throat with a little tongue pain back there. I am getting tonsil stones out of my right tonsil for the past few months but am still concerned about this discomfort. I saw my ent about 2 months ago, he just looked in this time, I have seen him many times, he said, nope, don't see any cancer! No scope this time or anything. He is a well respected ENT at a teaching hospital.
My question is, if this were throat cancer, would I be having other symptoms by now. I mean I have had the pain for over a year now in that same area. (right sided, near tonsil and tongue). Would I have a neck lump or something, or more pain?
Thanks for any input. I'm just scared and don't know what to do from here.

Hi Michelle,
My stage III/IV tonsil cancer had no sensation of pain at all. A dentist friend pointed out that is a worse possible scenario and it was. I originally thought I may have had a peritonsillar abcess (PTA) but absence of pain is not normal in PTA. PTA is very difficult to cure because of poor blood supply to where the infection is, so antibiotics are not very effective. PTA can take a very long time to cure and recurrence can be frequent.

I have a friend, with tonsil stones and I will contact him and see if he can shed any light.

Unless you are a heavy drinker and/or tobacco user, 33 is a little young for throat cancer, in general. Most of us who get this are older, many being in their mid 50's like I was. My radiation oncologist told me that she is starting to see more patients in their 30's and that is mainly because of starting heavy cigarette smoking in their teens.

Tonsillectomy, as an adult, is considered major surgery, so many ENT's like to avoid doing that.

The testing (and amount of visits) you have had so far seems reasonable and prudent. My head & neck surgeon doesn't use the scope much either, he prefers to "visualize" the area with mirrors and palpation.

Incidentally, an MRI might shed some light on the area also since they are especially good at capturing details in the soft tissue.

As Brian suggested earlier, a second opinion might bring you some relief from your fear. It does seem like a long time to suffer in any case.

Thank you so much. I keep trying to tell myself that throat cancer or tonsil cancer would be quite noticable by now. Something is wrong, but I just don't know what. I am 33, a mild smoker, have never been a heavy one, but I am trying very hard to quit.

Thanks again,
Michelle

Did your tonsil swell? You see my pain is all right sided, but that tonsil seems smaller than the left one. Some of the lymph tissue seems to bother me though. Anyway, thanks for any help. I'm still trying to get another appointment with my ent.

Mich4

Hi Michelle,
My tonsil itself didn't swell but it had a 6 cm x 3 cm polyp type tumor grwing off of it. It literally filled my entire throat (behind the Uvula) and was readily visible.

The tonsil IS lymph tissue.

Stop smoking - now! This is a wake up call. You are fortunate to get one. Being a "mild smoker" and it being "hard to quit" is contradictory. Get over your denial and just do it. Quitting smoking won't kill you but continuing will.