Convinced I have tonsil cancer. Help :(

[ClipClop]

Hi Carrie,

Yep, I had frequent sore throats and could also always feel it. Whenever I swallowed it felt sore in the tonsil area too. Some days more than others.
The pain would sometimes go to my ear and jaw too. The reason is because it is all on the same nerve path (like when you have tooth ache and it spreads to your ear). My glands below my jaw were also up.

I didn't have the camera down my throat, I'm not sure why.

It was always completely benign though, albeit very uncomfortable and worrying at times.

xx

[Carrie8484]

I'm sick of this now. The ache in my enlarged right tonsil is constant and when I swallow I feel like I'm choking. Damn Doctor who didn't take me seriously. I don't know what to do, im feeling really desperate now.

[ClipClop]

Hi Carrie,

Please try not to despair, I honestly felt like that too each time I swallowed, and my right tonsil was bigger too. They both had a completely different appearance. The soreness is what made me eventually agree to surgery. I remember the first thing I said as I came round was "What did they look like when they were out?!!". It was then my surgeon said they were "disgusting"!!!

Anyway, the results came back completely benign and it's such a relief to not have that pain and worry anymore...

What's your appointment situation? Are you due to see an ENT consultant?

Keep strong - I know it's frightening but you sound so similar to me and I was completely fine, as are lots of people. xx

---------- Post added at 19:24 ---------- Previous post was at 19:13 ----------

P.s. I just reread your posts. I see the GP said to come back if it doesn't go down. This is a typical non-ENT thing to say. Basically, my tonsils never went down due to the chronic infection underneath (which, also, did not present as white spots on the surface. Only red and swollen with pain and swollen glands). Also, one of my glands under my jaw has NEVER gone down since (even after 7 years!!) and yep, he said this was completely normal!! I recently saw another ENT person about something else and he also said it's normal for some glands to never revert back. Nothing to worry about. So, basically, please don't be too freaked out if it doesn't go down. I'd be surprised if it did if they are chronically infected/sore.

Also, for your info, I have health insurance but I pay for my own consultations with my insurance package. The cost of a top one in London was £200. I don't know what it would be elsewhere in the country.

If you haven't already, I would ask for a referral. It really helps to see a specialist.

Keep strong xx

[Carrie8484]

Thank you so much clip clop. My current situation is whether I pay privately to see an ENT specialist or whether I go back to my GP and try to insist to be referred on the NHS sooner than the 2 weeks they wanted me to wait. . I'm at the end of my rope with this now , in constant discomfort and feeling very very upset. I just worry about how long it's actually been like this and I haven't really noticed as I've had a number of sore throats this year and pretty much ignored them until now. My throat is killing and the tonsil is huge and sore, I've had this for 3 weeks now. Thank you for replying it really does mean a lot X

[ClipClop]

Hi Carrie,
Maybe you're awake like me, huh?
I really wouldn't worry about how long you've had it. I had sore throats, swollen tonsils and tonsil stones for approximately 3 years before I finally had them out. It won't mean anything other than the amount of time that you are personally in discomfort. It isn't dangerous, it is just discomfort (albeit understandably worrying, often strong discomfort).

A two week wait sounds pretty good to me. I wouldn't have been surprised if you were waiting months. Unless you are quite well off, I would opt for the nhs route. The reason being is that they'll probably want to perform blood tests (to rule out glandular fever) and all these diagnostics can get very expensive, very quickly. You could always start off nhs and then move to private if you are unhappy (a lot of consultants work both private and nhs so you could probably even see the same person, but just in a slightly more comfortable consultation room :-).

Honestly, I think you'll feel a lot better once an expert has had a look. They see these things all day every day, and they still surprise me with comforting knowledge even when I've convinced myself I could pass a degree in the subject after all my neurotic research

Oh, just a final thing. I remember in my first consult my tonsil doctor strictly told me to stop looking at my throat as it was a well known fact that the more you look, the more you think and then the more you think you notice things. Easier said than done, of course :-)

[Carrie8484]

Hi clip clop, yep the insomnia / late night panicking is the worst.
I agree about private care getting very costly the more appointments / procedures you need doing. I had a cyst diagnosed/treated privately and after I'd paid on the day I received a further invoice through the list. I think I'll see my GP next week and tell her how anxious I am about it all(the worry is making me feel more ill, if that makes sense) If i did take out private medical insurance say from nxt week, I wonder how that would work regarding getting private apts straight away? I'm not sure. I've spent the last few days in London on a break with my boyfriend and I've ruined it by being so unwell / negative / anxious. It's horrible isn't it xx

[ClipClop]

Yes it is the worst! Funnily enough, I was up that night worrying/staying awake about a cyst (ovarian) that has been diagnosed and needs removing! It's benign thank goodness, but even still, the thought of it all sent my panicking through the roof. May I ask if your's was ovarian also?

Re the insurance, they wouldn't cover you for this i'm afraid, as it would be considered a pre-existing condition. Your best bet I really think would be to go through NHS, and then change to private if you wanted to later. The NHS really can be just as good as private. As I said earlier, you often see the same person but just in a different setting!

Oh my, I can't tell you how many "good" times I've had ruined through anxiety; particularly trips away. It's almost like I put myself under extra pressure to enjoy myself because I'm meant to be relaxing, and then of course I'm more aware of it! One thing that has really helped has been seeing a therapist. He helps me see things more rationally.

We seem like very similar people!

---------- Post added at 11:16 ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 ----------

P.s. I meant to say, yes I totally get how the anxiety makes you more ill. I read a book entitled 'How your health anxiety is making you ill (and what you can do about it' which pretty much confirmed this process. I think that's why my ENT guy told me to stop looking at my throat!

[Carrie8484]

Hi Clip Clop
My cyst was actually a breast cyst, which they drained. I have had problems with abnormal smear tests in the past and I know how worrying these 'women's' problems can be. I often get a shooting pain in my ovary area so I sometimes worry about that too!

I think I will go to my GP next week because at the moment, I feel like nothing is being done and I am so worried. I refuse to google because all my symptoms point to C. My tonsil feels so big and Im fed up of feeling intensely it every time I swallow. Im also getting more earache and sore throat symptoms. In the past these things have settled down after a week or so but now it's 3 weeks and getting worse so I can't relax.

Thank you for recommending the book. I will look on amazon later. I hope you are doing okay too,( I also have emetophobia which I noticed you have too) so I certainly think we are two similar, health anxious women! xx

[ClipClop]

Ah good luck with the appointment. And you're completely right not to google - well done! I remember I too was worried about my tonsils being sinister and I ended up googling and finding all these blogs etc that pretty much confirmed my worst nightmares to me.

However, what I can say is that my symptoms sounded almost identical to yours (even the pain lasting weeks... Months even!), the weird asymmetrical appearance, no white spots... And all I can say is that they were completely benign. Also, sometimes the reason why they hurt more than at other times is because I had tonsil stones underneath them (gross! Sorry!) that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. This was causing a lot of the swelling and pain. They are completely harmless things that form in chronically infected tonsils (or tonsils that have formed tiny 'holes' due to repeated attacks) but can be exceptionally painful -particularly when swallowing- when they do occur. Also, I should add, my GP had practically zero knowledge on these!

Good luck and let me know how you get on! xx

[Carrie8484]

Thanks again Clip clop for being so understanding.
Can I ask, have you ever been a smoker? I say this because my HUGE concern is that I smoked for ten years throughout my 20's and now I worry my bad habit has come back to haunt me. I stopped around 2 years ago but I now I could easily have done enough damage in that time to cause these problems.
I just want some respite from the discomfort , pain and anxiety.
When I saw my Dr last Monday she told me come back in 2 weeks if it wasn't any better. So that was exactly a week ago. I have,in effect, 1 week left before I should go back to her.
Due to how anxious I am, should I go back sooner? Im struggling to imagine getting through this week. My regular Dr is only in on Mondays so I would have to see someone else at the surgery, so should I go and see someone this week? Or wait it out until next Monday? I worry that, if it is a tumour, it is growing and getting worse the longer I wait. Im sure you can empathise with my anxiety? Work is really a struggle at the moment with all this going on :,( xx