Hello everyone. My name is Matt, I am 30 and have not yet been diagnosed with OC, but am scared that something is wrong. I have been worried about this for about six months or so now. Before I get into the details, I just wanted to send out a heartfelt thanks to all of you posters here at the OCF website. You are some of the bravest souls I have ever had te oppurtunity to learn from.

So here is my story. I lived recklessly for 10 years. I smoked, drank a lot, and never really thought about the consequensces of my actions. About two years ago, I had enough of it all, and quit everything cold turkey. I have never looked back. In fact, I just ran my first marathon this year back in June. Back in April of this year, I bit my tongue. No big deal right? Well, I didn't think it was abig deal, after I had remembered that I had actuallt bitten it. It healed up, but in the meantime, I started freaking out about OC, due to all of the research I had done online. I became obsessed with the idea, pretty much consumed by it. It had gotten to the point where I had stretched my tongue so many times it hurt. I noticed the papillae on my tongue, and they frightened me. Not the ones on top, but the circumvallate ones (sp?). So, I go to a dentist, and she gave me a quick once over, and without hearing me out completely, she told me blood was pooling up in the back of my mouth, and if things didn't get better, she was going to refer me to an oral surgeon. Panic strikes agin. I was a goner for sure now. I immediatley found someone who used the vizilite exam in my town for a second opinion. They said I was fine, and the lumps I was obsessing over in the back of my mouth were pappilae. My fears subsided for a month or so, and then my worries came back shortly after. About a 2 months ago, I noticed a lump on the same side of my mouth in the floor, and it doesn't have a partner in crime on the other side. Did I wish myself into cancer? I didn't know, and am still grappling with the idea that something is wrong.

So to make a long story short, I go to the University of Michigan oral and maxillofacial surgery unit to get an exam. This bump moves around, and is hard to palpate if you don't know how to hold your hand. The doctor's assistant had a hard time even noticing this thing, and thought I was crazy from the get go. I got the Dr to find it in there, and he messsed with it for a second, and then said; "Let's see if you have the same thing on the other side". When he couldn't find anything, he felt my lymph nodes under my jawline, and said there was nothing wrong with me. And that I didn't have any symptoms of OC. I asked about the bump, and he said he wouldn't lose any sleep over it, and that it was not symptomatic of cancer. That the only cause for concern would be is it grew.

If you have been reading this you know that isn't what I was looking for. I want to know what this thing is, NOW!

Being that the University of Michigan is nationally recognized for their excellence in medicine, shoudl I be worried about this at this point? I mean, I am what I would consider to be a certified hypochondriac (just look at this post).

My question for anyone who has wasted their time reading this is; if you have been diagnosed, did it take forever to get someone to listen to you? I mean, who else am I left to turn to at this point? I am scared, and I need to move on, or get ready for the fight of my life. A little advice here would really help a guy out. Thank all of you for taking the time out to read this.

-Matt