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.

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

Oh bless you and your poor mouth. At least you've got all the surgical things out of the way. One step closer
 

I've also started with the sleep issues, every hour I wake and my stomach turns when I remember what's going on. Sometimes I can't wait to sleep to try get away from reality but it sometimes haunts me in my dreams too! Terrible. Just want the results over with now. 
 

fingers crossed they let him in then or I won't be happy. Hope you slept ok x

Good morning

Yes, i had a good sleep .  I did wake briefly about 4am and wentt to my calm app and put rain soundscape on .. woke about 7:30 to my chap saying , "yikes its been raining for hours , i dont think we'll be going for a walk tofay"  . Said to him its my app he said , "oh, at one point i was going to get up and cieck the gutters lol ...

On a serious note I have been prescribed sleeping tablets by my doctor but i avoid them , i would have to be deaperate to use them but have used them when need be , but i dont want to become reliant .. she also gave me diazepam, again not really ideal but I took Diazepam each time i had an hospital appt to try and calm me 

I hope you have something planned this weekend to occupy your mind - we are walking , its a beautiful day and i hope to keep walking for along as treatment allows me to as well .. 

x

Glad you managed a good sleep and are going to enjoy the day! You seem to have a great mindset which I'm sure will be a massive help to yourself in the future. I wish I could say the same for myself. I suffer with severe anxiety and I can't get this appointment out of my head, reading into the appointment letter and notice I've been changed to a different clinic which to me says the worst. Just dreading it. Want it to be Thursday now to get it over with but also don't want Thursday to happen cause I don't want to hear it 

How and when did your symptoms start?

Is your appt still with ENT? 

When i was in your limbo I used to say i wish i had an off switch .. so I could forget everything .  
 

I am not strong no matter what others think ... inside i am in turmoil .  I lost a stone  in weight in one week from the day my doctor told me she waa referring me on a 2ww urgent ENT - I still havent gained the weight back and i dont have much to lose , but my anxiety just burns up any food eat . 
 

It is goog to talk to others in the same situation , easier than speaking to your loved ones .  If i speak about it with family I just end up crying .. 

x

I never really had any symptoms. I looked in my throat and noticed a funny looking growth (looked like a third tonsil) behind my left tonsil and some swollen tissue on the back of my throat. But if I hadn't have looked in my throat I would have never known. 
 

yes my appointment is still with ENT but says clinic 145 instead of the usual 140. Feel sick thinking about it. What did your appointment letter say on it? 
 

oh jo, my heart aches for you. Such a terrible place to be. But keep thinking positively (I know it's so very hard)  I've also lost a stone with no weight to play with! Another thing to worry about. I also have a toddler to entertain and I feel so guilty as I just want to be alone x

okay.  Mine started with a simple niggly sore throat .  I had my 3rd Covid Booster mid December and thought it was just a side effect to that.  Was not really painful and took no painkillers for it.  Then come new year i was thinking it is still there .. so took a look in my mouth and noticed one side looked odd to the other , like lopsided to the back around my uvula.  I called my Doc and she left me some antibiotics out and said call her if they didnt work ..Well , they did nothing., so called back  and was told I could see my doc in a month , by this time a little bit of worry was kicking in  as I had beeen googling (as we do) and said i wasnt happy to wait a month and that i could also see a small lump forming on my soft palate to the left my uvula , so amazingly I got an appt earlier reduced from 28th Feb to 14th Feb . Come 14th Doc took one look as said I am referring you for urgent ENT , she said its probably nothing but literally the floor felt like it had fell away and I was falling and falling and I still feel like I am falling to some degree...  as i still have this darn PET scan to get through .. 

From the time I got seen at ENT the lump had doubled in size.  I had the nasal prob up and guy said he wanted the lump biopsied and an MRI ..  have you had an MRI? 

I know how you feel about wanting to be alone.. i was like that too.. i still have days where i just go to my bedroom away from others and read or sleep, sleep is a great escape .. don't feel guilty it is totally normal responses.  I have two girls at home , one 14 and one 24 and really do need to escape at times ,, hence me an chap walk a lot at weekends lol ...

Have you looked up silent reflux?   but hey, whatever the outcome , I will be here .. hopefully come Thursday you  will be told positive news and you can sign out of here and carry on with life...  most ENT referrals dont end up as a Cancer outcome .

x

okay.  Mine started with a simple niggly sore throat .  I had my 3rd Covid Booster mid December and thought it was just a side effect to that.  Was not really painful and took no painkillers for it.  Then come new year i was thinking it is still there .. so took a look in my mouth and noticed one side looked odd to the other , like lopsided to the back around my uvula.  I called my Doc and she left me some antibiotics out and said call her if they didnt work ..Well , they did nothing., so called back  and was told I could see my doc in a month , by this time a little bit of worry was kicking in  as I had beeen googling (as we do) and said i wasnt happy to wait a month and that i could also see a small lump forming on my soft palate to the left my uvula , so amazingly I got an appt earlier reduced from 28th Feb to 14th Feb . Come 14th Doc took one look as said I am referring you for urgent ENT , she said its probably nothing but literally the floor felt like it had fell away and I was falling and falling and I still feel like I am falling to some degree...  as i still have this darn PET scan to get through .. 

From the time I got seen at ENT the lump had doubled in size.  I had the nasal prob up and guy said he wanted the lump biopsied and an MRI ..  have you had an MRI? 

I know how you feel about wanting to be alone.. i was like that too.. i still have days where i just go to my bedroom away from others and read or sleep, sleep is a great escape .. don't feel guilty it is totally normal responses.  I have two girls at home , one 14 and one 24 and really do need to escape at times ,, hence me an chap walk a lot at weekends lol ...

Have you looked up silent reflux?   but hey, whatever the outcome , I will be here .. hopefully come Thursday you  will be told positive news and you can sign out of here and carry on with life...  most ENT referrals dont end up as a Cancer outcome .

x

Oh my throat looks lopsided too to one side of my ulvula did the consultant give you any inkling of cancer before you got your results if you don't mind me asking? Yes I had the mri a couple of days before the biopsy. I had bloods too. 

when is your pet scan again? It sounds like it's all moved v quick for you and it's been found early so fingers crossed nothing will come out of that scan and you can get moving. This time next year I'm sure this will all be in the past and you'll be back on track to enjoying life to the full!! 
 

no I will look up Silent reflux. As much as I don't want to admit it to myself I know the answer though... 

No, the consultant said nothing .  In fact my chap said to him 'what do you think it is" and he said there was  no way to tell until Biopsy .  
 

I had a massive panic attack on the MRI day lol - what an idiot ,I knew it was not a painful procedure - i think it was the scanerio i was finding myself in ..   when i went for my biopsy the surgeon said she had seen the MRI scan and something waa definetly there and not right , that waa first real indication that things were not looking good .

My PET scan is Thursday - nil by mouth for 6 hrs -but  lots water - I will be radioactive for 6 hrs after the scan

Big day for us both Thursday then! Wish we could fast forward!

Yes indeed, do keep me posted.  Not sure how long I will have to wait to hear of my results , I imagine they would only contact me if they do find spread..  

Drop in here anytime if you have questions or need a distraction 

x 

Thank you and the same to you of course. Have had an ok day to try distract myself but the gut wrenching feeling when you remember again is unbearable. Do you think I can ring the hospital on Monday and see if the consultant can tell me if it's good or bad over the phone before discussing Thursday? I don't know how I'm going to make it I really don't x

I know , its like waking from sleep  oblivious and then remembering what is going on in life , its cruel ! 

I know all hospitals work in different ways so I would say nothing ventured , nothing gained and you could give it a try.  My consultant works over a vast area and works only certain days at certain hospitals so speaking to him any other day was never  possible as all my appts with him seemed to be on a Tueaday so what you need to remember Is if you do try on Monday and its not possible it doesnt mean its bad news,  it just isnt a possibility due to how your area functions . 
 

You will make it through because you have to , I thought  the same way too ,  but seriously think about calling your doctor Monday too about your situation and asking for medication to help you get throiugh ! They will listen and help you. 

x 

Yes I think that will be the case for my consultant too. But will give it a go and hope for the best! 
 

I think I may have to ring the docs on Monday and give the medication a go. I suffer from health anxiety and have never wanted any medication in the past but I think I don't have much choice here. I'm going to make myself very ill if I carry on. 
 

random question - did you have a swollen ulvula after your biopsy? I've had mine for almost 2 weeks now! Seems to be getting better each day but wow what an awful sensation it is! X

Absolutely, you can but try.

Medication in my house only ever went as severe as Ibrupofen lol - i was a health junkie - i ran 5 days a week and swimming was a massive passion - i have done none since Feb , never did i think that would be the case for me. - but this has consumed me , more so before i got my diagnosis.   Asking for help to sleep and for anxiety was a big jump for me but i realsied i was being stupid to think i could cope without it - oddly knowing i have it there to take makes it easier and i dont reach for it everyday so think of  it as a back up and it will be there if you need it and you dont have to take it if you dont feel the need 

My uvula does not feel affected but the area affected s literally bordering it ,but the biopsy site is so angry ,  sore and swollen I may not even notice or be able to differentiate  .  My soft palate is so swollen i struggle to even see my uvula now

x

Oh I'm sure you will be back running and swimming in no time!! And good for you reaching out for help, I will follow in your steps. 
 

I can't believe your biopsy site is still so swollen 6 weeks on! Did the consultants say anything about it when you went in? My biopsy was to the left of my ulvula just behind my left tonsil so I would have never have imagined the ulvula to be affected. I'm wondering if it's was all the tubes and cameras that were down my throat instead x

I know , 6 weeks on and it really does worry me and two consultants have seen it and all they say is it looks very sore and to keep taking painkilles every 4 hours ,  i have been doing this for weeks on end now but i cant keep taking painkillers like this and i try to avoid them until it becomes too painful .  I will repeat my conerns on Wednesday to the team I meet but my worry is it will be 'not their department' and i feel a little lost and abandoned on this constant battle 

I see your point about the uvula too , as you say,  maybe repercussions form biopsy gadgets and as long as it shows improvement , then this is a good sign I am sure, if it  were deteriorating then I would think to worry  .  

x
 

I trend to worry about every little glitch now lol - i cough i worry , feel a lump when I swallow , I worry - I am constantly checking my neck for swollen lymph nodes -   i feel this is now moulding me into a very difderent me !