Back in August I noticed a lump on the back of my tonsil. Flesh colored, round looking. I went to the ENT who looked at it and said it looked fine. Now I looked at it again and it looks like it might’ve gotten a little bigger. I’m freaking out because I’m thinking it’s cancer. I’m 35, female and I know it’s rare especially since I’ve never smoked but my mind goes straight to cancer. Anyone else have this?
Lump on tonsil
- Thread starter SB2017
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bigjetplane6
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Could always be tonsil stone, could be extra tissue, just a benign lump, the list goes on. There’s a lot of benign reasons for it
I've said before I'm envious of those who go to the doc and get told they are ok...you are ok!
Aries
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I used to get pustules on my tonsils. They were always getting infected and inflamed and I had trouble sleeping because of breathing issues. But eventually they shrank and disappeared. I think you should get a second opinion.
I plan on seeing another ENT on the 22nd but afraid they’re going to tell me it’s cancer
Jgriffin
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Flesh colored lump sounds like a tonsil tag to me. I have those. Normal if it's that
How large would you say yours is?
I am just going to jump in here.
I suffered severe health anxiety after the death of my father to cancer in 2019.
I was convinced I had throat/tonsil cancer. It culminated in my practically begging my ent to take my tonsils out.
I too had a fleshy lump on my tonsil. It had probably always been there. The fact that I obsessed over it, checking my throat 10 plus times a day, i too thought it was getting bigger.
My Ent was convinced it was normal. I still wouldnt listen. After having my tonsils out they came back from histology absolutely fine.
I guess my point is-trust the professional. Ent’s have to train for years and deal with cancer all the time. They know what they are looking for. I am fortunate that I now have my HA under control. I always trust the professionals. I know easier said than done as i have been in your position before. But trust your doctors. Get a second opinion by all means. But obsessing over it will only make it seem worse. Your mind ends up making you think its much much worse.
I wish you all the best and hope that if the 2nd Ent confirms what the first has said you can move on and be happy. Take care
I suffered severe health anxiety after the death of my father to cancer in 2019.
I was convinced I had throat/tonsil cancer. It culminated in my practically begging my ent to take my tonsils out.
I too had a fleshy lump on my tonsil. It had probably always been there. The fact that I obsessed over it, checking my throat 10 plus times a day, i too thought it was getting bigger.
My Ent was convinced it was normal. I still wouldnt listen. After having my tonsils out they came back from histology absolutely fine.
I guess my point is-trust the professional. Ent’s have to train for years and deal with cancer all the time. They know what they are looking for. I am fortunate that I now have my HA under control. I always trust the professionals. I know easier said than done as i have been in your position before. But trust your doctors. Get a second opinion by all means. But obsessing over it will only make it seem worse. Your mind ends up making you think its much much worse.
I wish you all the best and hope that if the 2nd Ent confirms what the first has said you can move on and be happy. Take care
bigjetplane6
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Still obsessively checking 15+ times a day. Convinced I’m feeling pain in the ear and pain when swallowing. I can’t wait for my appointment but I’m petrified they’re going to tell me something bad. In the meantime, I’m going to my GP on Wednesday Afro blood work, which I’m always scared will come back showing lymphoma.
Bless you, I know exactly how you feel. I hope everything is ok. I know its hard to do, but try your best to stop obsessing, as it really does make it seem much worse than it is/may be.
Please let us know how you get on and I hope that you can put it to bed if you get the all clear.
Take care
@SB2017 any updates?
I did EXACTLY what you are doing now. I convinced myself I had stage 3 tonsil cancer. It was an ordeal that probably took years off my life just from stress. My partner had to watch me diagnose myself and actually break down from stress over it. I took constant pictures of my tonsils and then kept comparing them because I was sure it was getting bigger. After almost two years of this, and two endoscopeys from two different ENTs later, I finally had to admit to myself I didn't have throat cancer.
Save yourself the hell. Follow up with a doctor, sure, but start looking up and reading about health anxiety instead of cancer. HA anxiety is the real thing to address. It's the problem and it's hurting you.
I did go to the ENT on Monday. He was very nice, listened to all my concerns, which I liked. He put the scope up my nose and down into my throat and looked around. He also felt my neck for lumps. He said that it looked like fleshy tissue and he wasn’t concerned because when he pressed on it, it was soft, and everything else looked normal. He said he could do a biopsy on it but he thinks it would be overkill but if I needed to ease my fears, he would do it. I left feeling satisfied. But then I started obsessing over a spot on the back of my neck (a spot he didn’t feel) that I had biopsied 2 years ago. I keep thinking it feels different and I’m kicking myself for not pointing it out to him. My blood work also came back normal. Just can’t get lymphoma out of my head
And this is the typical pattern of the HA thought process. The real question is: what are you going to do about it?
I did start therapy in July. It really doesn’t seem to be working. I recently purchased a book that I believe it was you who recommended it on here. I haven’t gotten into it completely but just skimming through, it sounds exactly like me!
CBT and mindfulness both have pretty good track records. You have to put in the work though! Print out this form and literally write it out every day for two weeks. For those two weeks, do not allow yourself to google symptoms. Start to think about how you can stop scanning your body constantly (checking for lumps, feeling your throat, checking your tonsil, etc. Really make a conscious effort to shift your energy from worrying about cancer to worrying about health anxiety. You can 100% do it, but here the thing; you actually have to do it.