Head and Throat Cancer... I'm confident

[Willtyler]

Hello everyone!

Thank you in advance for clicking this and taking the time to read my short story!

For the last 2-3 years, I've had a weird group of symptoms which I believe are in no doubt of my mind related to some sort of Head and Throat Cancer. Let me explain.

I am a 24 year old male, 170 pounds, 6'1, slightly active but a not so good diet. I smoke and drink occasionally on the weekends and nothing else besides that, and I have a stay at home job (Telling you this so you can kind of understand who I am).

A few year ago I use to get intense random bloody noses almost every single day (sometimes for 30+ minutes). It happened more in the winter but still happened in summer time as well. I haven't had a bloody nose in a while but they use to come and go quite often. I also spit up blood, which was my first big red flag. I do not cough and blood comes up, I simply go to 'clear my throat' with a 'hack' sound and when I spit up saliva, there is blood in it, sometimes a little amount, and other times there is A LOT. Again, this hasn't happened recently but I use to do this almost every morning, and just like the bloody noses, it'll come and go. I do however spit up phlegm all the time, at least 100 times a day I feel like I clear my throat. I have had swollen lymph nodes all over my body for 3+ years as well. I have had a CT scan on the chest which showed a lot of swollen lymph nodes, but the biggest are on my shoulders and neck. They did a needle biopsy 2 years ago and it came back inconclusive. I also saw a doctor who specializes in Lymphoma and Leukemia and any blood disorder and was 'confident' I do not have any of those diseases.

However, I wake up about every 3 days with a very bad ear ache that subsides within an hour. I also get sore throats quite often, have a hard time swallowing, and when I do swallow it sometimes feels like a knife is stabbing me in the throat. On top of this my mouth has white/red spots on my tonsils that are inflamed and have been for at least a few months. I also experience trouble breathing every other day throughout the day. This is all a lot of random side effects I experience I know, but what makes me extremely nervous besides all of this is the fact my glands in my neck (about right under the jaw) I have huge swollen masses on both side that feel like an inch long. They do not hurt, they move when I try to move them, and feel tender. I'm not sure if my doctors even noticed them, but they've been there for some time.

I hate looking stuff up but I decided to do my own research and all of the symptoms are all common in some type of Head and Throat Cancer. I am calling my doctor tomorrow and am going to get an appointment with a ENT doctor. I also had that ENT doctor look at my nose when I was getting all those crazy bloody noses and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary but he only looked a few inches into my nose and not my throat. I feel like I finally found what has been causing this which has now caused me to become extremely scared as I have a little girl who is my everything. If I had this disease it is not a easy one and can be deadly, not to mention there is a high chance you lose your voice due to them having to remove part of your vocal box. I've been watching videos and reading stories of people who have gone through this and it is extremely scary and they are very brave. I am trying to remain calm but I feel like I have this and this is the end.

If you've made it this far thank you so much, and if you have a story similar or know someone who has experienced these symptoms I'd love to hear what they had and how they dealt with it.

Have a fantastic week

[NoraB]

My lad used to have nose bleeds everyday. He still has them occasionally. (The docs said it was his adenoids..)

The sore throat thing sounds a lot like tonsillitis, especially how you describe the swallowing bit. I always described it as 'swallowing glass' (not that I have any experience lol)

The best person to speak to on here re head and neck cancer is our own FMP...

[Fishmanpa]

The best person to speak to on here re head and neck cancer is our own FMP...

I would say thanks but I truly wish I weren't

"Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. It doesn't come and go nor does it stop once it starts."

There is nothing at all in your post that raises any red flags for H&N cancer.

FMP

[utrocket09]

Hello everyone!

Thank you in advance for clicking this and taking the time to read my short story!

For the last 2-3 years, I've had a weird group of symptoms which I believe are in no doubt of my mind related to some sort of Head and Throat Cancer. Let me explain.

I am a 24 year old male, 170 pounds, 6'1, slightly active but a not so good diet. I smoke and drink occasionally on the weekends and nothing else besides that, and I have a stay at home job (Telling you this so you can kind of understand who I am).

A few year ago I use to get intense random bloody noses almost every single day (sometimes for 30+ minutes). It happened more in the winter but still happened in summer time as well. I haven't had a bloody nose in a while but they use to come and go quite often. I also spit up blood, which was my first big red flag. I do not cough and blood comes up, I simply go to 'clear my throat' with a 'hack' sound and when I spit up saliva, there is blood in it, sometimes a little amount, and other times there is A LOT. Again, this hasn't happened recently but I use to do this almost every morning, and just like the bloody noses, it'll come and go. I do however spit up phlegm all the time, at least 100 times a day I feel like I clear my throat. I have had swollen lymph nodes all over my body for 3+ years as well. I have had a CT scan on the chest which showed a lot of swollen lymph nodes, but the biggest are on my shoulders and neck. They did a needle biopsy 2 years ago and it came back inconclusive. I also saw a doctor who specializes in Lymphoma and Leukemia and any blood disorder and was 'confident' I do not have any of those diseases.

However, I wake up about every 3 days with a very bad ear ache that subsides within an hour. I also get sore throats quite often, have a hard time swallowing, and when I do swallow it sometimes feels like a knife is stabbing me in the throat. On top of this my mouth has white/red spots on my tonsils that are inflamed and have been for at least a few months. I also experience trouble breathing every other day throughout the day. This is all a lot of random side effects I experience I know, but what makes me extremely nervous besides all of this is the fact my glands in my neck (about right under the jaw) I have huge swollen masses on both side that feel like an inch long. They do not hurt, they move when I try to move them, and feel tender. I'm not sure if my doctors even noticed them, but they've been there for some time.

I hate looking stuff up but I decided to do my own research and all of the symptoms are all common in some type of Head and Throat Cancer. I am calling my doctor tomorrow and am going to get an appointment with a ENT doctor. I also had that ENT doctor look at my nose when I was getting all those crazy bloody noses and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary but he only looked a few inches into my nose and not my throat. I feel like I finally found what has been causing this which has now caused me to become extremely scared as I have a little girl who is my everything. If I had this disease it is not a easy one and can be deadly, not to mention there is a high chance you lose your voice due to them having to remove part of your vocal box. I've been watching videos and reading stories of people who have gone through this and it is extremely scary and they are very brave. I am trying to remain calm but I feel like I have this and this is the end.

If you've made it this far thank you so much, and if you have a story similar or know someone who has experienced these symptoms I'd love to hear what they had and how they dealt with it.

Have a fantastic week

My dad has head and neck cancer just about a year and half ago. He had no symptoms other than a horse voice. He still has his voice box and has been in remission for over a year. It isn't all gloom and doom.