Painful white patch and white bump at back of throat? Scared. Throat cancer?

[freefallin]

Hi all,

Ever since I was in high school (I'm 22 now), I had this spot on the right side of the back of my throat that would hurt really bad and turn white for about 2 days and then return to normal. It was actually acting up when I went to a GP for neurological problems last week, and she didn't say anything about it; she looked in my throat for maybe a split second, though, because she was so convinced that all of my problems were related to an anxiety disorder even though I have really scary neurological problems that I won't go into since this is the ENT board. So now I have an appointment with my dad's internist, but he can't see me until May 4th.

Yesterday, I woke up and my throat was hurting abnormally bad, so I looked in the mirror and noticed a small, irritated white bump also on the right side next to the uvula. The white patch is, well, white, as well. Everyone keeps telling me it's probably a tonsil stone, which is frankly getting on my nerves because 1) It HURTS. Badly. Everything I've read says tonsil stones are generally painless. 2.) It looks nothing like a tonsil stone. I Googled and YouTubed them, and this doesn't look like one. It's much smaller, more circular, irritated, and not impacted in my tonsils. It looks more like a canker sore if anything. 3.) It's NOT on my tonsils. 4.) I tried using a q-tip to take it out on the off chance it was a tonsil stone, and it won't budge.

I labeled a picture of the back of the throat to show the location of the white patch and bump.

http://i43.tinypic.com/5mkcqt.jpg

Anyone have any idea what this could be? Is it probably throat cancer? I'm hoping it goes away on its own soon since I already have a doctor's appointment with another doctor on the 4th and don't want to go back to that other doctor since she hardly listened to any of my concerns and threw anxiety pills at me. I'm getting really sick of having health problem after health problem. Just as I stop worrying about one thing, something else appears, it seems.

[jlmoriart]

I would like to know if anyone figured it out as well. Just noticed a sore spot in the back of my mouth and a similar bump next to the uvula. It's pretty painful where it's sore and, while I've had lots of issues with soreness before depending on my diet, I don't think I've had anything that usually does it recently and I've never seen the bump before.

[to_gen]

I'm going through almost EXACTLY what you're describing - including the mysterious symptoms that have been building up in the last few months. I've been to the ER a couple times, but they keep telling me it's just anxiety. However, while many symptoms CAN be explained by anxiety, there are some that just seem to not make sense with that as the sole issue.

Anyway, I just noticed a growth next to my uvula and did some searching, so my question is:
Did you end up figuring anything out that could possibly help me?

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

There could be many causes for the ulcer. If painful it could be apthous ulcer. The other causes could be due to trauma, autoimmune conditions or due to certain medications. It could also be due to neoplastic (cancer) conditions or inherited disorders. You will need to consult your dentist who will examine you and determine the cause so that appropriate therapy can be initiated. In the meantime you can try warm salt water gargles and betadine mouth washes.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[freefallin]

Anybody? The pain seems to have gone down, but I still have the white bump. It hasn't grown that I can tell...

[freefallin]

Also, just realized this question may arise, so no, I don't smoke. :) Never have.