A friend reports a solid bump the size of a ping pong ball in the throat area. he thinks it's an infection. but could it be? he's had it for some weeks, is fearful about going to a doctor to have it examined.

That's big: A person in his 70's (or any age) with a new ping-pong sized lump anywhere needs to see his or her primary care doctor for evaluation and diagnosis. If it's an infected skin cyst, that would be better news than a suspicious tumor. A skin cyst that size can be initially treated by a primary care doctor, but a surgeon is usually needed to excise the cyst at some time.