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Cancer Referral Appointment- what to expect?

LittleMissSick
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Hey guys!!!

I have my first ENT Cancer Referral appointment on Tuesday,

What should I expect to happen on this first appointment?

A bit of background..

I lost my voice 28 weeks ago, 3 weeks no voice at all and ever since I have had a really hoarsely voice, extremely bad coughing that's been going on for about 6 months, a constant headache that's only recently came the last few weeks but gets worse through out the day, and my snoring well let me just say I can wake up people on the whole street it's gotten that bad, I can't feel a lump in my neck but my tonsillitis are slightly red in colour, the whole left side of my breathing is completely crackled(the doctor informed me) 

I've had numerous rounds of antibiotics, steroids and pain relief medication over the last few months and nothing has helped.

I get worse at night when lay down the coughing fits are unreal and cause me to be sick.

 

Anyone been through anything similar?

Anyone going through the same situation?

Any help would be appreciated

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    Hey!

    so while I haven't shared the same symptoms as yourself, I did go through the cancer referral appointment, and have been in remission from Burkitt Lymphoma for almost a year now..

    I feel that the value you will receive from this forum is honesty so I will be honest. As you (I suspect) will know already, the reason you've been referred for this appointment is because it is SUSPECTED that you MAY have cancer, but at this stage, it's important to stress that without the relevant tests that is impossible to tell for sure.

    the appointment initially will just be fairly informal just like a GP with an examination, but everything from that appointment onwards will likely move extremely quickly from their end, so please be prepared for that. (They will likely want to book blood tests/scans in very quickly)

    The whole process can feel very overwhelming and fast but it really is for your benefit.

    I wish you all the best

     

    sean

  • Hello,

    What a difficult time you have been having.  At your ENT appointment it is likely that the specialist will do a physical examination of you to feel for lymph nodes in your neck, look down your throat and listen to your chest.  They will also ask you to describe what has been going on for you which has led up to the appointment.  They may then want to do some further tests depending on what they have seen, these might include a chest xray or other scans of your chest.  They may not be able to arrange these on the day and you might have to come back to the hospital for them on another occasion. 

    There can be lots of conditions other than cancer that can lead to the symptoms you describe, like an infection, bronchitis or some other inflammatory condition of the lungs, so don't assume that it will turn out to be cancer. 

    Everyone's experience is different so you may not find someone on here with a similar experience to you.  Also as this is a cancer forum you are more likely to get responses from people who turned out to have cancer rather than the many other conditions that might be causing your problems.

    So the best thing to do is to see what the ENT specialist has to say and take things from there.  I hope you get some answers soon

    Take care

    Martin 

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