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Lump right hand side of neck and swollen right tonsil

Soreenoxx
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Hey,

I am a 22 year old male and I have been worried sick incase I have cancer.

it all started when I felt a hard lump on the right hand side of my neck, it feels moveable but also cannot tell if it is a few lymph nodes stuck together or one large one.

i got blood tests that came back clear, went for a neck ultrasound, came back and said that I have one 8mm lymph node with 2-3mm lymph nodes around it, does this mean they are matted?. I thought I had lymphoma at first because my skin was itchy but I think it was all in my head. I them looked at my tonsils in the mirror and the right one looked like a slightly different shape. I also have a lump on the base of my tongue so instantly thought I have mouth cancer (I do smoke. Although trying to cut down) I've heard mouth cancer is rare in 22 year olds but then I read about hpv mouth cancer that can affect younger people. I got an urgent referral to ENT but I have to wait 5 months! Does this mean it isn't urgent?

i am terrified as everything seems to be on the right hand side and after all the googling all that comes up is cancer! Has anyone had any similar experiences? 

  • Offline

    Hello Soreenoxx, 

    I just wanted to welcome you to our forum. 5 months is a long time to have to wait to see the ENT and it does sound like they are treating it as a non urgent referral. I can imagine it must be a very stressful time for you. I know it is really hard but try not to worry too much or anticipate what it might be. The best thing to do to avoid thinking too much about this is to keep busy and distracted if you can and avoid looking things up online. Everyone will tell you that Dr Google is not to be trusted. I can imagine it is hard for you to resist consulting Google at the moment but it will help you feel a little less anxious. 

    I hope you will also hear from others here who have been through all this before and that they will be along soon to share their story with you. 

    Keeping everything crossed for you that everything turns out fine. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Lucie

    Thanks, I rang the ent waiting times and they said ent triaged it as urgent and so did my gp. They said the waiting list is very long and if I hadn't have been urgent I could have been waiting two years, is this normal? Surely if it was cancer and I'm waiting months it would get a lot worse

  • Offline in reply to Soreenoxx

    Hi what area do you live? In Scotland the waiting times can be atrocious. I'm waiting a month for an urgent referral for a neck lump blood tests have come back poor. It's terrible making people wait when the earlier people are treated the more chance they have!! Hope you get seen very soon and that all tests come back negative for you. X

  • Offline in reply to Cazzyjojo

    Hi I live in n Ireland! Hope all comes back well for you! I know it is a disgrace the anxiety is killing me and interfering with my life x

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