Hello,

I am new here, and have a very concerned question to ask. About 1-1/2 weeks ago I began to have symptoms of a sore throat, and I thought that ths was all it was. However, that feeling has persisted, and evolved (a few days later) into my feeling something like a lump under the my left jaw bone whenever I swallow. It cannot be felt on the outside (although there was a slight swelling in that exterior location, a few months back) but is always felt when swallowing.

I have been a smoker for better than 40 years (and know that I should quit this very nasty habit - which, by the way, I AM going to), and am quite concerned that this could be cancer. Is it possible that this could be some other condition besides that? I will be seeing a dentist, in the next two weeks, to finally get some deperately needed work done on my teeth, and he (or she) can help to make a determination (I've read) as to what my condition could be. But I wished to get a little hope here (if possible) before waiting until then. I do realise that any info gained from this query could not be definitive, but it would help me to not worry too much if I know that there are a number of other conditions which could be causative of what I am experiencing.

Advanced thanks.