Oncologist

So this is a little out of order.  I just realized it's been almost two weeks since my last post.  It just doesn't seem like I've had much time.  Not that a lot has happened in regards to this; just life.

On the 7th I saw my Oncologist.  It was a good appointment.  I brought him up-to-speed and he did a brief exam of my mouth and neck.  He said I was on the right track and I was doing all the right things.  We talked awhile and my wife helped with the questions and notes.

He didn't really seem like this was a big deal.  Sure he was concerned.  I mean, this IS cancer, but he seemed optimistic in the prognosis.  I told him I was concerned that it had spread to my lymph nodes so he examined them.  He said yes they were swollen but they weren't, relatively speaking, that big.  He gave me some examples of sizes that would concern him, I forgot the details, but mine weren't of much concern.  That definitely made me feel good.

Towards the end of the appointment he said I looked "worried".  "Uh, ya!  I have this cancer thing in me.", I thought to myself.  Again he reassured me with a positive prognosis and told me of the woman with the mushroom sized tumor growing in her mouth.  I talked about it in a previous post.

Oh, he also asked me what was the first thing I noticed that caused me to go see a doctor.  I told him the swollen lymph nodes.  He was surprised that the degree my lymph nodes are swollen would have alarmed me enough to seek medical advice.  Almost even baffled.

I'm not one to shy away from a doctors office.  I've heard plenty of stories of how women, being typically more health conscious than men, seek medical advise more frequently and therefore have higher chances of catching diseases early and as a result generally have a more positive outcome treating their illness.  I've also heard enough times how early detection, especially in cancers, is the key to beating it.  Besides,  I have insurance, might as well use it.

Although, I have to say, if I were more in tune or sensitive about my health I may have caught it even earlier.  For about a couple years now I've been doing this, pretty consistent, clearing of my throat.  I only noticed it through a video recording I had made where I could hear myself clearing my throat in the background.  Now I remember...I purchased a dash cam after getting in this accident that this guy outright lied.  I was viewing some video after I had just gotten it and noticed me clearing my throat constantly.

At first I thought it might be a nervous tick or something.  Then, as I was aware of it now and listening for it, I noticed that it seemed to be more prominent after drinking coffee.  So then I just thought it was a reaction to coffee.  I even quit coffee for awhile to get rid of it so I was pretty convinced that it was coffee related.

Come to find out through researching this cancer that "frequent clearing of the throat" is one of the early warning signs.  I'm not sure how long I was doing that before I noticed it on the video.  But I think it's safe to say this has probably been growing in me for a couple years.  I think my wife told me or I read somewhere that cancers are in you for six years before they start to manifest.

But whose to say it would have been detected that early.  I may have gone to a doctor who just said it's acid reflux or something and told me it's of no concern.  Still,  I think the point is, be aware of your body.  If there's even the slightest abnormality get it checked out and get an answer as to what's causing it.  And second opinions never hurt.