Lump in throat with discomfort

[SamL94]

I have another thread regarding this issue but that is quite old now and so I thought I would make a new one with my updated problems.

I have been suffering with my throat for over a year now, since last May. It all started when I kept feeling a lump sensation in my throat when swallowing. This was my only symptom at the time, and, after several misdiagnosis' including Thrush and Tonsilitis, I went to see an ENT specialist last August. He performed an endoscopy, and diagnosed me with Globus Hystericus. He gave me treatment which I took over the coming months but it did not work. Then, around December time, the lump feeling moved slightly to my right side, but again I had no other symptoms. Then in January I felt what I am sure is a lump on the right side of my throat, directly where this lump sensation is. I went to my GP and he dismissed it, saying it is nothing. Then, in the next few weeks, I am sure that this lump grew. I went back to my GP and he ADMITTED that it felt bigger, and sent me for an urgent gastroscopy (presumably to check for acid reflux) as well as a full neck ultrasound. Now, the gastroscopy did find a hiatus hernia, but no mention of actual acid reflux in the report. The ultrasound was the test I was most worried about, but this came back clear. I even showed the person performing it the lump, and he went over and over it, and just said it is part of my thyroid cartridge. My symptoms though are getting worse and worse since these tests. I have now started getting chest pains when I stretch my neck or look up, and the front of my neck has also started aching when I look up. Also, when I look over my left shoulder, I get an aching right where this lump is, like it is pressing against the skin.

I was diagnosed with acid reflux coupled with anxiety but acid reflux would not cause a lump, and why hasn't the treatment worked at all?

Attached to this post I have 2 photos which I have taken of this lump. Now, you guys are probably going to say that it just looks like my Adam's apple, but the problem is, if I put my finger on the head of this lump, it feels like it is just to the right of my Adam's apple. Also I am sure this lump is still growing because a few months ago it was hard to get a picture of but tonight I got 2 straight away.

I went to see a thyroid specialist yesterday and they just felt my neck and said they couldn't feel anything of worry. They admitted that I had a lump on one side but just said that it feels like my windpipe bone or something is asymmetrical on one side. Thing is though, this lump moves up and down with my Adam's apple when I swallow, so how can it be part of my windpipe? I mentioned the discomfort on right side when swallowing and also these chest pains and the specialist just sort of shrugged them off.


I have several questions though.
-If this is nothing of worry, why do I have an uncomfortable feeling when swallow DIRECTLY where the lump is? (and before anybody says it is anxiety, I started getting the discomfort first, and THEN felt the lump).
-If the chest pains are unrelated, why do I only get them when I stretch my neck?
-Why did my GP admit that this lump had grown, after first turning me away?
-Why has months of treatment for acid reflux not worked, if the specialists are so sure this is what it is?

Also on a side note I did have 80lbs weight loss between early 2015 and around March this year, but this has tailed off and I haven't really lost any more since.

[Fishmanpa]

I responded several times on the other thread.

I guess the only question I have is why are you posting here if you're so convinced it's a real physical issue? If you're that convinced, collect all your records and test results and get a 2nd opinion.

Positive thoughts

[SamL94]

I responded several times on the other thread.

I guess the only question I have is why are you posting here if you're so convinced it's a real physical issue?

Positive thoughts

Im not just posting on here, I am posting on several different forums (cancer forums, neck forums, etc) to get a wide range of views from people of different knowledges.

I know this forum is mainly for anxiety, but surely somebody like me who has wrongly being accused of anxiety can come along and share my problems.

I mean come on, just look at them photos I have attached. If you had an opbvious lump like that in your neck that has grown since last year and is causing discomfort surely you wouldn't just let a specialist fob you off with anxiety rubbish just because 'some test didn't show anything'.

EIGHT ****ING MONTHS AGO I COULD SHAVE NO PROBLEM. NOW WHEN I SHAVE I KEEP CATHCING THIS LUMP WITH MY SHAVER. I COULD TELL THAT TO A ****ING DOG AND HE WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THE LUMP MUST OBVIOUSLY HAVE GROWN, YET DOCTORS SEEMS TOO THICK TO UNDERSTAND. I mean, why didn't I become a doctor? I have no qualifications but hey, it can't be that hard to just blindly feel somebody's neck and then come up with a vague diagnosis like 'anxiety'. THERES A PHYSICAL ****ING LUMP. Me going to the doctors with a physical lump and being told I have anxiety is like somebody going in with their leg snapped in 2 and excruciating pain, just to be told 'nah mate, anxiety is causing your leg pain'.

[Fishmanpa]

All I know is I'm a Head and Neck cancer survivor. I've been there and done that. In the year since you first discovered this, it would have grown substantially and you would be ill. Tests, scans, etc. would have shown something. Like I said, collect all your records and results and seek a 2nd opinion if you feel this is a serious physical issue.

One more thing. Please don't post on cancer forums. It's disrespectful to those who actually are dealing with it. If indeed it turns out to be, then by all means but until then?....

I wish you the best Sam.

Good luck and positive thoughts

[SamL94]

All I know is I'm a Head and Neck cancer survivor. I've been there and done that. In the year since you first discovered this, it would have grown. Tests, scans, etc. would have shown something. Like I said, collect all your records and results and seek a 2nd opinion if you feel this is a serious physical issue.

One more thing. Please don't post on cancer forums. It's disrespectful to those who actually are dealing with it. If indeed it turns out to be, then by all means but until then?....

I wish you the best Sam.

Good luck and positive thoughts

Just look at the photos I attached. That lump has grown. Even my GP admitted as much. And like I said, 8 months ago I couldn't feel it at all when shaving, now it gets in the way. And how do I seek a 2nd opinion when no GP will listen to me and all specialists disregard my problems. The only option is to pay private again.

Also you say that tests and scans would have shown it. First of all I've only really had 3 tests (ultrasound, endoscopy, and blood tests). Now I have seen MANY MANY people say that blood tests can show ok with cancer, so they can't be trusted. Again with the endoscopy, I trust the test, BUT would that show something on the Adam's apple or thyroid? Surely that would only show something on the inside of your throat. The ultrasound is the one test that is keeping me somewhat positive, but I'm sure there have been cases in the past where that has been wrong. Also you've just said your self 'if indeed it turns out to be'. So even you still must think there's a chance, even after the tests, that it could still be cancer. How then, am I supposed to just keep calm and trust the tests when I have worsening symptoms and a noticable lump?

Posting on as many forums as I can increases the chances of getting better answers. Somebody on the cancer forum may have had similar symptoms to me and could tell me not to just listen to the doctors, and keep pushing for more tests. Also the cancer forum I am posting in has a specific sub-forum called 'Pre-diagnosis, signs & symptoms', so obviously they are quite happy to let people post before diagnosis.

I am not the one being disrespectful. The disrespectful ones are the doctors who could well have let a cancer develop in my neck for a year now because they don't listen to me.

[Fishmanpa]

Ok.... You get a 2nd opinion by requesting all your records and test results. It was as simple as asking for me. As far as getting a 2nd opinion. That may be more difficult for you in the UK and you may have to go private. For me, since I was diagnosed with cancer, it was as easy as a phone call to a CCC (Certified Cancer Center), transferring my records and such and boom! The thing is, despite your beliefs and personal opinions of the medical profession, you've been given a clean bill of health.

Having checked out the forum you're participating in, I found a rather interesting response (among others from cancer sufferers (some terminal!) and survivors who took time out their lives to reassure you as I have) that echos mine.

"I see you are still worried about your situation, even after having all your tests and scans, some that you've paid for privately and with every health professional telling you that you don't have cancer. You do have an illness it is called hypochondria (health anxiety) and you need to get help for it, you also need to seek out a forum where you can discuss your illness with others who share your illness and understand how you feel and can suggest ways to deal with it (this forum is just the place!). Discuss this with your GP and see if you can get referred for a course of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to try and break the endless loop you find yourself trapped in. Several months ago you had lost 80 lbs as a result of your diet, I see its still 80 lbs so you are not losing any more weight, a sure sign you dont have cancer.... "


A moderator on the same thread the previous post came from suggested the same thing I did about a 2nd opinion...

"If you're worried you're still having symptoms after having the tests then you could go back but maybe this time you could try and see a different GP and mention everything you've said here; so tell them about the tests you've had already as well as the worries you have about your weight loss and the lump in your neck. By doing this you can get a second opinion and see if they agree or disagree with your other GP about the symptoms being caused by anxiety, stress and acid reflux."

And I reiterate it's disrespectful to be posting on cancer forums when you don't have cancer. On the forums I am/was part of, I've seen many HA sufferers. In fact it was this very thing that led me here as I followed a poster to this site. You're just going to get yourself banned if you continue posting there I assure you!

Good luck Sam. I hope you find the answers you seek and I hope you find it within yourself to accept and treat the illness you do have. I hope not to see you on the H&N cancer forums.

Positive thoughts