Hi I am 23 years old. I had mono about a year ago and my tonsils never went back to normal. One tonsils is slightly swollen with a lot of crypts. The other one is swollen and it just looks horrid. Every day I look at them and it just depresses me. I'm scared that I might have cancer in my tonsils cause I just don't understand why they never went back to normal. I also suffer from acid reflux and I don't have trouble breathing or swallowing..no pain. But when I clear my throat I feel this awful lump and I figger its from my tonsils. Can anyone help? Do I have cancer? I'm scared that I might have it.

Vividangel1984,

Mono can have flare ups for over 18 months... it is a horrible virus that completly over hauls your immune system. You have to worry the most about it during the first six months with the possible liver/kidney complications, but it will continue to cause flare-ups in your immune system for a long time after that. My husband, fiance at the time gave me mono 24 months after he had contracted. I had a flare up 21 months after contracting it. My bet is that Mono has yet to release its hold on your immune system.

So in my opinion it would be highly unlikely that you have throat cancer. Do you smoke? Do you chew tobacco? Does your family have a history of throat cancer? If you answer no to these then the chance of having cancer is minute to non-existant. If you still are worried then you should go to your GP and voice your concerns.

Sincerely,
MG