Hi Celeste, @onethinkitty, This sounds rough. I didn't have this exact thing, but when I was first diagnosed, my lymph nodes were pressing against everything that they shouldn't have been. I would have to pause and think about relaxing before speaking or drinking. I had a job where I was required to run meetings with large groups of people, and I had to stop doing that for a while. Eventually, once I started treatment, the lymph nodes went down, and the condition subsided. Even now, I still get a little bit of a flutter feeling in that area sometimes.
You are three weeks out from surgery, is the vocal chord improving? What is your team saying is the cause? Damage, swelling, other?