This is my first time to this site, and unfortunately I have few other means of obtaining answers to these questions because I neither have nor do I have the ability to obtain health insurance at the moment. I think I have read nearly every blog, forum and discussion board on the internet searching for a situation similar to mine, but all the symptoms have been partial and a satisfactory answer has not been found.

That being said, for many months I have been experiencing throat symptoms that are alarmingly similar to those of throat/laryngeal cancer. However, I also have extremely bad GERD and extremely bad TMJ, both of which share many common, overlapping symptoms.

It all began with a sore throat, which lasted for a little over a month. I had just gotten over bronchitis and I have a history of winter allergies, so I assumed it was nothing to worry about. However, that was last October and I still have symptoms. I don't experience any pain in my throat or lymph nodes, nor is there any swelling. I do have a cough sometimes, but it's only when I lean my head back and flex my neck that I feel the urge to cough. I do, however, have the "lump" feeling on the right side of my larynx, just blow the Adam's apple. The feeling is only on the right side and seems to shift higher and lower depending on the day. In addition to this, my throat feels "uncomfortable". I wouldn't say it's painful, itchy, or irritated in the common way. It's actually a very unusual feeling, it feels more like a "pressure" than anything. Sometimes it has that slight burn, as though I've just run a very long distance, but it's not severe and it's still isolated to one area of my throat at a time.

This sensation varies throughout the day. I usually don't notice it in the morning. It becomes more noticeable in the mid afternoon, during which my throat typically feels very tight and the "lump" feeling becomes most pronounced. In the evening the throat pressure normally goes away but the lump feeling becomes more severe. Sometimes I also experience breathing difficulty. It doesn't feel like I'm suffocating, but it seems as though my breathing becomes somewhat labored and unnatural.

I am presently 24 and I have smoked on and off for six years, although I have recently quit for good. I smoked roughly a pack a day for most of the time but gradually got down to maybe a pack a week. For two and a half of these six years I was a heavy, daily drinker. For over two years I have maintained a low-fat, mostly vegan diet and I exercise regularly and rigorously. Before adopting the diet I ate very reasonably and have been on a regular exercise routine since adolescence.

Like I said, I have a few other symptoms such as raspy voice and occasional ear pain, but I have also been a lifelong sufferer of GERD and TMJ, which is frankly not helping my worry at all. I intend to find a way of seeing a doctor soon regardless, but before I did I wanted some feedback, just for my own sake and maybe to have things to share with my doctor. Thanks ahead of time, guys; I really need resolution to this before I drive myself mad with anxiety.

PF