Hi Mic281

[quote]Realistically, what are the chances that this is just Leukoplakia? Benign. NOT BLOODY CANCER![/quote]

the answer to the question above is that the chances are very good that it's not "bloody cancer".

Just to put the whole issue of oral cancer in perspective the stats for Australia according to Cancer Council Australia is that in 2008 over 2000 people were diagnosed with a head and neck cancer (not including brain cancer) which represents about 2% of all cancers being this type. This is lower than the rest of the western world which quotes around 5-6%. Even so, still not very high.

So already, the odds are in your favour. On top of that, the vast majority of cancers are diagnosed after age 50 and more than two thirds of them are men.

I am not going to work out the odds on that but less than 1 in a million is probably a good guess. Given that you are young and female it is much more likely to be something else.

HOWEVER, this should not be cause to relax and do nothing. You do have smoking as a risk factor and leukoplakia can turn into cancer down the track, so you do need to take care of it, be vigilant and kick the smokes. Have you tried Champix? Was magic for me although I have friends who got sad or nauseous on it and couldn't finish the course. I actually enjoyed the vivid dreams too and missed them when they stopped.

Try not to stress too much over the bits you can't control(easier said than done, I know) and concentrate on what you can (quitting, keeping doctors and dental appointments, good oral health, eating well etc) .

You should not worry too much about the HPV diagnosis either. 99% of people clear the infection within 1-2 years, and cervical HPV has no link with oral cancer other than it is the same infection. It does not travel through the body by itself so unless you are double jointed, this is not an issue for you (if you get my drift)

Let us know what happens won't you?

Karen