i have a lump under my chin about a third way down my neck.my primary care dr. felt it but did not know what was. she schedualed the ultrasound available.the radiologist did not know what these nodules were either.their recommendation is to see a surgern "asap" for a biopsy my appointment is 3/29/05.i'm worried because 1. my dad recently recovered from sqaumous cell oral cancer after radiation and chemo 2.i smoke cigerettes 3. i took antibiotics for 10 days with no change 4.why was i sent from primary care dr. to surgern with seeing ent dr.any insight or comments would greatly be welcomed. thank you-alicia

Hi Alicia,

Sounds like you are taking the right steps.
Relax. It's not cancer until they say it is.

1. Quite the ciggies. If you get nothing else out of this realize that they are killers. I know, I was a smoker (a pack a day for 25 years). Now I look back and cant imagine why I did it. You need to walk away from it no matter what!

2. Talk to a Ear Nose And Throat Doctor ASAP. You clearly have a family history.

3. Sounds like a goyter (spelling).

4. Have a happy Easter (if thats your thing).

Good luck. Here's hoping it's nothing.....

Robert Hamilton

alicia,

i'm with robert on everything - stay calm to the extent possible. There's many board members that have had scares (wether post treatment or never having diagnosis). You'll drive yourself batty otherwise. Keep us posted!

Sabrina

Hi Alicia: It is not cancer until the fat woman sings (that would be the oncologist/pathologist). That said, my brother had the same symptoms - swollen lymph glands that did not respond to antibiotics. Given that you smoke, you are definitely at increased risk, later if not now. My brother was not a smoker. Please quit smoking immediately. If it isn't cancer (and there are plenty of people who have posted to this board who had something else, not cancer), you will benefit from not smoking. And if it is cancer, you will benefit from quiting too. Good luck!! - Candace

Hi,
in response to the question of why an oral surgeon Vs an ENT dr. In my lay opinion, referrals to either specialists are common (my gp gave me a choice and asked if I had one I had been to), I don't think it means much, other than to get you to a specialist soon. It may have more to do with whom your doctor knows or has worked with, etc.

However, feel free to ask that question and lots of others - write your questions down. As others have said, it isn't cancer until they say it is. Yet, we also have been there before and know the unrestful feeling as you wait.

It is important to follow up on this, however, take it one step, one doctor's visit at a time. It seems much easier to deal with emotionally when you take it step by step. You can handle it.

I started keeping a notebook that I brought to each dr visit. It helped me to write down what the doc said. Also you can ask for a copy of the biosposy/test results. I didn't always do this but it helps if you see different doctors or can't remember some of the medical terms, etc.

We are here if you need us,
michelle

Hi Alicia,
When I found a lump in my neck, I was sent to an ENT who also was a surgeon with extra oncology training. He did a needle biospy, put me on antibiotics for two weeks and then I spent the agonizing wait for 9 days for the results. Came back clean. As I was walking into his office 3 weeks after initial visit, I was poking around looking for first lump which seemed to have disappeared and found a new one lower in the neck. This time, because he didn't like the feel of it, and because my nerves weren't going to take another 9 day wait, he decided to do a surgical biospy 2 days later so I would have the results immediately. I also had a CT scan before surgery. Needless to say in my case, it was SCC in 1 lypmh node with an occult primamy. I post this so you may have an idea of what to expect from the dr on Tuesday. Problem with needle biopsy is it is possible to miss area and get false negatives.

Here's hoping the path report comes back negative, but do quit smoking or the next one may not.

Take care,
Eileen