A lump in the throat is a classic GP presentation, but one that often causes a lot of worry. Many people are struggling with high levels of anxiety anyway at the moment, and this may manifest physical symptoms, such as fatigue, insomnia and dysphagia.

In this week’s episode, we discuss how to differentiate between causes of a lump in the throat: is my patient experiencing laryngopharyngeal reflux, or could it be cancer? How do we reassure distressed patients when we need to refer them on for imaging, or a consultation with a specialist, before we can rule out a malignant cause?

We also talk about how to manage a patient who has difficulty swallowing pills, and the challenges of getting children, in particular, to take medication.

Our guests:
Nick Hamilton is a clinical lecturer in otorhinolaryngology at UCL, and also works as a specialist registrar in otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery at North Thames Deanery, London.

Deonne Dersch-Mills is the clinical practice leader for pharmacy for paediatrics & neonatology with Alberta Health Services. She is based at Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary.

Bonnie J. Kaplan is a semi-retired research psychologist, and professor emerita from the Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary.