I am 27 years old. There is a growth in my throat on my soft palate that's been there for a year. I had a CT scan done last month and results were that my lymph nodes are swollen, but hard to see anything because I have fillings and made the scan unclear. I have surgery scheduled in June to remove the growth as the Dr. said it looks abnormal and they will send to pathology afterwards. They said it could be tonsil re-growth (had them removed as a child) or a pampilloma or a fluid filled sac, they are not sure so want to be cautious. The growth feels like a very mild sore throat, and the soreness spreads to my ear canal. I am trying not be to worried, but I can't help it. I am glad they are removing it but uneasy and not sure how concerned the Dr.'s are that it is cancer. I would appreciate any advice or stories.

Why are they waiting until June to do surgery? Our collective experiences dictate a more urgent response. I would find another doctor. I would get a Pet Scan. It's your body and it's your life. I would not wait to find out what you are dealing with. It may well not be cancer but that can't be excluded and if it is cancer time is of the essence. Make calls tomorrow until you get something started.

It is really important that you take care of it right away. My son kept putting off doing something about the pain under his tongue until it got so bad that it forced him to get a biopsy and they told him that the reason he had the pain was because the cancer cell was wrapped around a nerve. Not all cancers are accompanied with pain. You might find that there is nothing to worry about but waiting until June to find out only gives you more time to stress out over this. It is better to find out NOW so that if you have to, you can start fighting it right away for a successful outcome. Please do whatever you have to, but do it right away. Your life is important!

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate your input. I will ask if I can get in on a cancellation, if one should come up. Any other advice on how to get them to move my sugery date up? Wait times here in Alberta are bad. A friend of mine who has thyroid cancer had to wait 1 month to have his thyroid removed.

A fellow who posts here with the user name Dragan is also being treated in Alberta. Search for his profile and send him a note -- maybe he has some insight on how you might go about jumping the queue.

All the best--
Leslie

David, what is a PET scan?

Time is of the essence here. i had a sore in my mouth for like 9 months that I never thought was anything. My dentist ,dr and oral surgon all thought it was nothing as I am 35 female never smoked and very very casual drinker. But decided to remove the lesion and biopsy it 2 days later they were telling me it was cancer and I was off to see another dr and another surgery and waiting to hear on radiation and chemo . so unitl they biopsy you wont know and why put yourself through the agony of wondering ( can be one of the worst parts ) and if It is you want to have it take care of. I would just expalin to the dr your concern and see if there is anyway to move up the surgery .

Mom--I, too, had some problems with my scans being affected by my dental work. You asked about a PET scan......Positive Emission Tomograph....shows very precise details of tissues....it is usually combined with a CT scan, which shows precise location but indistinct detail. The combination gives very good diagnostic information about the nature of a lesion, as well as its location.

The PET uses a radioactive glucose solution that is injected. The marked glucose is taken up by tissues that are more metabolically active than others. Cancer cells are rapidly multiplying cells, so they take up the solution more than normal cells. For this reason.....to get the very most accurate images, you need to curtail your physical activities prior to the scan. My son is a radiologist, and he gave me this advice. He said that, since the most important area of the scan for us is the head and neck...the mouth....one should not eat or chew gum for hours before the scan, nor talk excessively, so that those muscles are not exercised before the scan. You don't want muscle tissue to take up the solution and perhaps disguise the tumor.

Why not just get a biopsy? I agree with the others that waiting until June is simply unacceptable. Are you seeing a head & neck surgeon or ENT? A PET scan is a little premature at this point. The biopsy/pathology report is the gold standard diagnosis. It is a relatively painless and quick procedure.

Tonsils can grow back if they were not completely removed during childhood.

Also, many of us had NO pain. Tonsil cancers can be very stealthy and asymptomatic. They estimated that my tumor was 2 years old when they finally dx'd it.

Pain and swollen lymph nodes could indicate an infection or PTA (peri-tonsillar abcess). You could even have an impacted/infected wisdom tooth).

I am seeing an ENT and head/neck surgeon at the University of Alberta. I have had my wisdom teeth removed. I am hoping that this is just some tonsil re-growth. Hopefully it is nothing. I am going to call the office today to try and get into surgery sooner so I can put my mind at rest. All of this input is really helpful, thank you to all of you for being so helpful and supportive.