Hello I had posted a few weeks back about some changes I had going on in my throat. White patches on both sides and some red patches on soft palate. My dentist really recommended an ent who I ended up going to. However he wasn't a cancer specialist.

Upon meeting him he didn't think it was significant but agreed to biopsy one white patch in the throat. Followed up this week and the diagnosis was inflamed tonsillar tissue. Confused about this because I didn't realize that could be on the back of my throat. There was no descriptive micro analaysis so I personally called the pathologist and he assured me there was no malignancy.

Of course I'm still skeptical because I don't know if all pathologists are capable of recognizing this. I do know they excised a good chunk. Should I be leery? And do you think another opinion is in order? Would he have needed to do anything up and above to find out if it was cancerous?




Thanks so much for taking the time to help me.
Tammy

Congrats on getting good news from your biopsy!!!

I do understand your apprehension about trusting the test results. A biopsy is only as good as the doctor preforming it and the pathologist who analyzes it. Its not impossible for something to be done incorrectly, but it is pretty rare. Mistakes can and do happen. I am just like you and always err on the side of caution.

If you do not feel confident in the ENT you saw then I suggest going to another one who specializes in treating OC patients. An ENT who does everything like putting tubes in kids ears, hearing tests, diagnosing deviated septum, removing tonsils, treating TMJ, etc may be exactly as you are thinking, not the best person for the biopsy. You just never know the qualifications of the medical professionals besides what they want you to know. You should see someone who is very experienced in treating oral cancer patients as they would have the most experience with seeing abnormalities both cancerous and noncancerous. If you have a bad feeling about your biopsy and/or the medical professionals then go for a second opinion and make certain the doctor is more qualified than the original ENT you saw. It sure cant hurt to get checked again! Consider this... if your hunch is correct and you never followed thru and got checked again by another ENT then you are just hurting yourself if you really would be diagnosed with cancer. Then the cancer would have had more time to progress and be larger and harder to treat. You do NOT want to end up worrying about "what if..." if you dont get rechecked.

Best wishes and please do let us know whatever you decide and how you make out.

Thank you Christine for the quick reply!

One thing that I did catch was the ent clinically labeled it as a benign neoplasm. Not sure if that affects the way pathology treats it but I would rather have seen rule malignancy out, however that may be a given? Another note was it was back within a few days. Again not sure if that makes a difference? Also there are some red areas that weren't addressed so I will be most likely getting another opinion.

Hoping that I can trust it to be nothing!

I'm no expert, but wouldn't it being labeled 'benign' mean it was ruled out as 'malignant' ... can't be the same at one time and all that? Not that things can't change over time, and you still may want to talk to another ENT if the first was unsatisfactory, but if the pathologist said not malignant, and this report says benign, you have a lot of positive vibes to be holding on to, right now. Keep those close while you continue to ask your questions!

I sure hope so. My concern was the Dr. who biopsied it labeled it as benign on presentation to the pathologist because he thought it was nothing, which we all know you can't look at it and make that decision. Maybe that's just the way these things are done. I know from biopsies years ago on a few rashes I had it was always a few different possibilities but rule out anything malignant. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid...ugh.

Thanks for your insight, I appreciate it!

Hi, Tammy.

I'm happy and relieved to learn of your biopsy results.

I've been following this thread and I hope that you were able to get a consult with a head and neck cancer specialist for confirmation.

Hopefully, all is well with you!

Hi I’m still worried about all of this. The area that was biopsied is going back to the white color. Is that normal for tissue or does anyone know? Also still having the constant scratchy throat. Went to ent and they said maybe reflux was causing that so had an endoscopy done and there were no signs of reflux. Also endo guy told me reflux wouldn’t cause an irritated throat which is contradictory to everything else I have read. I have been upfront with all Dr’s about my alcohol consumption and it really feels like they aren’t totally taking me seriously. They are pushing rehab more than anything. I feel they don’t believe that 4-5 years of 8-10 ounces of rum a night is not enough to put me at risk but I should seek treatment immediately. It was a relaxing measure my husband and I would do in the evening. I quit right on the spot in January and haven’t looked back. I remembered I had a low iga level about 10 years ago so looked into retesting. It is still low and my igg has fallen significantly. The concern with the iga is it is what protects our mucous lined areas of the body. I also seem to carry at least a light variation of the gene that breaks up alcohol as I tend to flush when drinking. I have read some instances that these changes in the mouth can take time to progress. Several particular people who did have Oc were being treated as allergies and base of tongue cancer eventually turned up. So I’m just besides my self. Had colonoscopy since my dad had c cancer at 50. They removed a benign looking polyp which is now out for testing. I’m looking at my endoscopy pics and there appears to be a polyp in one of those but no mention in the report. Both procedures took less than 35 minutes total so again feeling a little unnerved. I asked the nurse if the doctor could call me when she did a follow up day after procedure. He hasn’t called. Is there anyone out there with experience of Oc from alcohol consumption and how they were diagnosed?
Thanks for hearing me out...it means so much!