Throat cancer symptoms?

i have had a left side only sore throat for almost 4 weeks. been to doc 3 times neg strep but swollen glands on the left side and some ear pain also in the left side, took antibiotics didnt help waiting to go to ent friday but scared it could be cancer i am 24 but i do smoke. any had this or know what it could be? i had mono when i was 17 so i know it cant be that

Here are the Signs and symptoms of Throat Cancer -

An early indication of oral and throat cancer is one or more changes in the way the soft tissues of your mouth usually look or feel. Signs and symptoms may include:

* A sore in your mouth that doesn't heal or increases in size
* Persistent pain in your mouth
* Lumps or white, red or dark patches inside your mouth
* Thickening of your cheek
* Difficulty chewing or swallowing or moving your tongue
* Difficulty moving your jaw, or swelling or pain in your jaw
* Soreness in your throat or feeling that something is caught in your throat
* Pain around your teeth, or loosening of your teeth
* Numbness of your tongue or elsewhere in your mouth
* Changes in your voice
* A lump in your neck
* Bad breath

Most oral cancers arise on the lips, tongue or on the floor of the mouth. They also may occur inside your cheeks, on your gums or on the roof of your mouth.

Please have a check up by you General Physician and he will tell you what to do. Do not get unnecessarily alarmed, but at the same time you should not neglect also, as CANCER IS STILL AN ENIGMA. Best of luck.-

have you had hoarseness of voice? does cancer run in your family? do you have colds or cough or allergy?

smoking could really hurt your throat so I would advice you to stop it for the time being. Do gargle with saline solution. Eating some fresh garlic could help too. I take it with parsley so I don't have to contend with the bad breath after. We in my household do take 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in 1 8 oz glass of water, with 1 crushed garlic and 2 tablespoons of honey. Works pretty well.

not enough information to really give you alot of help. Such as hurt to swallow, lump in throat, tonsils feel swollen, coughing up thick mucous, do you still have your tonsils. If you still have tonsils and thick mucous with an earache I would say they need to come out. Although it may just be a toothache caused by infected tooth. Or last although highly doubtful as you would feel a lump and would really hurt to swallow I would say thyroid problems although the best I can tell you is wait and see your Dr. Good luck:)

Other things it could be is fluid (allergies, sinuses such as post nasal drip or even sinus infection). These all together can cause a lot of pain in the throat and ears. Also, just because you had mono once doesn't mean you can't get it again. There are 2 types of mono. But don't freak out until you see the doc and they tell you what is going on. There can be other explanations for this.

It could be a dental infection somewhere.
Throat cancer is most common in older males, especially smokers. I would be shocked if it were throat cancer.
It could be lymphoma, which is a type of cancer in the lymph nodes, but if you aren't having other symptoms like night sweats, fevers, and fatigue that is also very unlikely.
Most likely it is some type of infection or abcess. That is what I would suspect.
Worrying is not going to help anything, and the statistical likelihood of cancer is quite low at this point, so you are only making yourself crazy for no reason! Try to focus your mind on something else, get a good book or rent a movie.
Hope it all turns out fine, I'm sure it will.