I cant offer any experience but I have been referred to ENT by. my doctor today due to abnormal swelling around my left tonsil area.  I had ongoing throat irritation in the new year,  a course of antibiotics did nothing to help .. 

I have my fingers crossed all will be okay for you today and your diagnosis will be much of nothing or easily rectified. 

Thank you for your reply. I've had a friend with swellings on their tonsils, which turned out to be harmless cysts. So I guess a lump in that area isn't always as bad as it seems.

My issue is a little lower down. Tried looking with a torch, but its somewhere near base of tongue or slightly lower I think, so couldn't see it. Probably best I don't see it. I did a week of antibiotics for something else coincidentelly. Did nothing for my issue either.

Preparing for the worse today. Not sure how you do that. I feel tired, weak and worried all a the same time. Trying also to tell myself that perhaps ignorance, at least for the next few hours, is bliss.

I have a deviated septum. ENT's love to point that out as if its something they really want to fix. Personally I don't notice it. My wife has issues with her nasal passages getting blocked, but uses and over the counter nasal spray which seems to work well.

I've dealt with post nasal drip before. Check your bedroom temperature and humidity over night. Also make a diary of what you eat in the evening (particularly dairy based items). I have to prop myself up with pillows at night too, for other reasons, but worth a try.

The ENT wasn't very interested if it wasn't anything he could see. He wanted me to see him again I suspect because of the horrendous private fee I had to pay on the way out. It was 3 times what I was expecting. Can't help but think the NHS queues would be shorter if these consultants didn't spend half their time in private appointments. I was sorry to have to do it this way, but under the circumstances I had no choice.

Well, I think maybe I am just clutching at straws and perhaps trying to find symptoms other than Cancer.  

All i do know is i am constantly swallowing what feels like goop! Which on research is known as post nasal drip. When I press my right nostril in,  I struggle to inhale through my left nostril but can breath out through it a little better.  Never noticed this before but how can that just happen.  I am not blocked up with catarrh and I dont have a cold.   My throat is is swollen and red on the left side.  I  bought a humidifer at the weekend and have had that running when home with woodburner and heating is on.  I dont have heating on in the bedroom , I prefer it icy cold lol with window open but i bought another smalll diffiuser/humdifier whcih I have had running by the side of my bed for the past few days .

I dont eat in the evening as i follow a keto style diet and have for a few years.   I have ordered a saline nasal spray and will start using that in left nostril later today when i get home .  

My ENT appt seems to be very quick as the hospital rang me yesterday but i was at work and didnt pick up but they left a voice message ,  it simply said they were booking me and a letter with my appt was in post.  So wow! hosptial calling day after my doctor reffered.  Which oddly scares me even more .. lol ..

I had no ideas that these NHS specialists were doing private assessments too.. this seems s a little crazy and as you say,  just adds to the choas of he NHS waiting lists .. 

Well, I had my ENT today .  The lump to my soft palate needs investigation so I am told a MRI scan will be next procedure followed by a biopsy of the lump under general anaesthetic within the next 6 weeks.. A long wait ahead to knowing what I am dealing with .  Specialist said no way of giving answers untill the other investigations are complete  - I cant help but think it is cancer

Sorry to hear you're going through this, the process I'm going through is very similar and I'm just awaiting my biopsy results and going crazy with anxiety and worry. How are you doing now?

Hi There

I am now prepping for cancer treatment .  My results were squamous cell carcinoma, but I think I pretty much already knew my outcome from my own investugation .  I am not sure where your biopsy was but please do not take my result as a verdict for your own - 95% of biopsy in ENT are not  cancer I have watched and seen so many in my short time here come back with positive unrelated to cancer outcomes.   I know the wait is hell but as i say i reserached heavily so the shock was in essence not so  unexpected 

x

Jo

Oh gosh I'm so sorry to hear that

 I also have done my own investigations on my situation and from the signs I'm getting from the consultant - I don't have a lot of hope. 6 days to wait xxx
 

Oh I am sorry ! What area do you have problems with ? 6 Days can feel like a life time .. I know

I had a mass behind my left tonsil and some swollen tissue at the back of my throat from post nasal drip. I went in for a biopsy and they removed it all! Been in agony ever since, and now had the face to face appointment through.

the surgeon said to me before I left that in most cases you will get a phone appointment through to discuss the results but in cases where weird and wonderful things come back we will ask you to come into the clinic. So that's just playing in my mind. 
 

how are you coping? X

In the end i waited 5 weeks for my biopsy results , by week three the consultnat told me it was cancer just from my MRI butbi had to wait another 2 weeks for patholody to confirm how deep the cancer had gone and if surgery would he necessary- i found out pnly this Tueaday , that i would not need surgery .. a small blessing 

I am always here to chat if you need to ️

Oddly , I am slowly coming to terms with things .  I do have days where I get totallly overwhelmed but human nature I guess..  But now I just want to get treatment underway .

I meet with radiology , dietitian and speech therapist Wednesday  and I have a PET scan Thursday to check for possible spread but they say they dont expect to find anything and it is just belts and braces procedures.but still another anxiety phase

I too have been in agony since my biopsy - i had biopsy under GA and around 4 stitches in my soft palate , these all came away within 48hrs leaving  me with a freah open wound - when i called the hospital they told me due to the area nothing could be done without going back into theatre which was not an option , my biopsy  site is not healed all these weeks on - it hurts to speak and eat

Oddly , I am slowly coming to terms with things .  I do have days where I get totallly overwhelmed but human nature I guess..  But now I just want to get treatment underway .

I meet with radiology , dietitian and speech therapist Wednesday  and I have a PET scan Thursday to check for possible spread but they say they dont expect to find anything and it is just belts and braces procedures.but still another anxiety phase

I too have been in agony since my biopsy - i had biopsy under GA and around 4 stitches in my soft palate , these all came away within 48hrs leaving  me with a freah open wound - when i called the hospital they told me due to the area nothing could be done without going back into theatre which was not an option , my biopsy  site is not healed all these weeks on - it hurts to speak and eat

Yes I can imagine - completely normal. Oh that's good you're not having to wait around to get started at least. Which area are you from if you don't mind me asking? 
 

I had my biopsy under ga too - I didn't even get stitches! Just an open wound! Did you have yours over 6 weeks ago!? And still not healed???

Yes , it will be 6 weeks on Tuesday .. they took quite a large section and I dont think there was enough flesh left to bring it together and the soft palate moves all the time , when you swallow , drink , talk , yawn (which was excruciating) it simply isn't an area I can rest for it to bind back together ..unless I sleep for 3 weeks  

I am in Gloucestershire but I think all results are given face to face at my ENT,  no matter what the outcome is 

Goodness that sounds horrendous! Hope you're managing to eat. It's awful with it all being mouth/throat related as there's no avoiding it. 
im just about to start nibbling at my soggy cereal to try get something down ha! Wish me luck x

Oh dear haha ! I had ready brek for dinner lol but tbh I am finding the softer food goes where it shouldnt lol and is possibly causing me more aggravation- (without being too graphic.)  I treated myself to good old English fish and chips tonight and the biospy seems not as bad - a chip cant quite get through the wound lol - hopefully you have eaten your soggy cereal and i have not put you off

Jo

Oh I know exactly what you mean haha! I'm missing tomato! Tried a sip of apple juice today and felt like my throat was being ripped open. And they recommended apple juice in the early days to soothe!? 

If you don't mind me asking jo - did they allow you to bring someone with you for your results?

Oooh , try honey ! In tea etc it is supposed to be a great natural healer - I was buying manuka honey but yikes it is expensive but tbh i think normal honey is just as good ! It is said to sooth and heal .  I was using it before my biopsy just to sooth my throat and you cant beat plain boiled water with diluted salt as a quick mouth rinse and gargle - totally grim to taste but amazing how much it calms down aggravation - i had to have two teeth removed last week in preperation for radiotherapy and it really does speed up healing and soothes - my sister is a dental hygienist and she swears by simple salt water rinses and i can confirm it helps massively and iit is a cheap and cheerful too . 

Yes they did ! I didnt even ask , my chap has been with me through everything , apart from biopsy - (now have vision of him gowned in theatre lol ) ... yes take someone with you ,, and when you get called just grab their hand and go in together 

x

I had honey at the Start and it did help, will get it back out as I'd forgotten about it. I also looked at the price of manuka honey and nearly choked ha! 

oh gosh - why do you have to have teeth removed for radio therapy? your poor mouth!! 
 

ok I will take my partner in with me and give it a go. If they ask him to wait outside I think I'll breakdown and beg! This whole covid and having no support in the hospital is really damaging. I sat and cried on my own for 3 hours before the biopsy!! X

Yes and do try the salt water gargles - they really do work and they don't hurt sore areas .

Apparantly , anyone who has to have radiotherpay to their mouth have to have their teeth x-rayed .  Once you have radiotherapy to your mouth area they do not want you to have any invasive dental work for 2 yrs because the blood vessels to the jaw can be damaged and this means your jaw will not heal after , there is a name for it , Osteo something or other .  I had an old root canal that the dentist said would be best removed and a molar that was more filling than tooth , so both were removed - the root canal was very stubborn and i had to have the gum cut to get it out and more stitches , uff  - it is  healing fine though - lots of salt rinses etc - and yes my mouth feels like it has been totally abused these past months - and I have had some very low stressful days indeed .  Sleep evades me , I wake at 2 / 3am and cant get back to sleep - I have been using some mindful meditation apps and I must admit they help to get me back off again rather than dark and silence and my chap doesnt mind me disturbing him and he listens to them too

I know how you feel , when my chap dropped me for day surgery for my op and had to leave me I was a wreck , i have a massive fear of hospitals too ! 

I dont think they will refuse your partner at ENT - when we went in they just asked who he was in relation to me and then see us through , and many others were in with partners , fathers/ family etc , very few went into their appointments alone 

Jo

 x