Sore throat help?

I’m feeling pretty anxious about this—maybe I shouldn't be, though. For about a week now, my throat has been itchy on the inside but actually hurts on the outside. It isn't constant; it just flares up here and there, usually in the evenings. When I first wake up, or if I just don't think about it, it feels fine. Plus, there's this little spot on my sternum that's tender too.
Has anyone dealt with anything similar? Please, any advice would help.

EDIT: I went down a rabbit hole looking up symptoms for lung or throat cancer, and honestly, I don't have any of them... Is it even possible for what I described to be something life-threatening?
I’m thinking maybe I just overdid it a week ago. I was out biking near 1.2 miles for a quick ride, and half of it was uphill. It could also be allergies—I remember feeling something similar back during spring allergy season—but I'm still worried. Trying to see a doctor right now is a nightmare because the local clinic is slammed with people trying to get annual checkups, and their hours are all over the place lately. Do I really have reason to worry?

Ragweed?! 😉
Take a look at this thread regarding ragweed allergies—it seems like it started hitting people hard about ten days ago.

George Sanchez59 said:Ragweed?! 😉
Check out that thread about ragweed allergies—it really started picking up about ten days ago.

Thanks 🙂
So, I shouldn't be too worried then? I'm still heading to my doctor this Tuesday just to be safe and get a professional opinion.

Feel free to check in with your doctor—maybe mention that you dealt with similar symptoms back in the spring.
There’s really no reason to worry.
Especially when it comes to anything malignant... 😉

While you're at it, maybe consider getting a few microbiological tests done? I’m talking about throat swabs, nasopharyngeal cultures, or even testing the tongue and buccal mucosa... It's possible some kind of fungus is causing all this trouble. For instance, I've been dealing with a persistent bout of Candida Albicans, which has triggered a whole laundry list of unpleasant gastrointestinal and respiratory issues.