Lump in cheek - been discharged. What next?

Hi, completely new poster, just been looking for somewhere to get a bit of advice as I'm feeling at a bit of a loss.

Back in August 2019 I found a small lump in my lower inside cheek. I made both a GP and dentist appointment both of which took place in Sept/October. The GP couldn't feel the lump (was very small at this Point) but referred me on to the hospital to have it checked. The dentist felt the lump but confirmed that it wasn’t dental related and more likely to be glandular.

My appointment with the hospital wasn’t until the 29th November (was referred to a private hospital through the nhs as the wait was 5 weeks longer for my local nhs hospital) and in that time the lump grew and quite often ached. However, the surgeon couldn’t feel anything there. He referred me for an ultrasound and it came back clear. I saw him again 4 weeks later (early Jan) and in this time it had continued to cause pain and grew slightly. However, he still couldn’t feel the lump with his finger. I can feel it clearly when I touch it and do feel confused as to why he can’t feel it. He wanted to discharge me at this point as the ultrasound in his opinion was conclusive. I got a bit upset as I felt that I’d been waiting a very long time with worsening symptoms, with no real explanation (or even acknowledgement) of what the lump could be. He was clearly irritated by me but did agree to refer me for an mri, making it plain that if the results came back clear, I would be discharged after. The MRI did cone back clear and was discharged as he is confident that there is nothing abnormal there to see. I asked the question “does this absolutely mean I have nothing to worry about?” And he confirmed yes. He couldn’t however, explain what the lump could be. Just kept saying that he couldn’t feel anything there. This was at the end of January. All of the letters that the surgeon has sent on to my GP have heavily suggested that my issues are related to anxiety (which I do have).

I am now in the position that I’m not sure what else to do. I have tried to take reassurance from the two clear scans and the assurances of the surgeon. However, this weekend I feel like the lump is very prominent and my entire lower cheek aches quite painfully - the worst I’ve felt it. I just don’t understand how after all this time, no one can tell me what it is.

Where do I go now? Do I bother going back to the GP? I’m worried that I’ll just get brushed off as being anxious or a hypochondriac . Also... my scans were clear. Surely that would have picked up anything sinister. I just feeling so frustrated. I have a lump! It’s growing. And it hurts.

thanks for reading if you got this far

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