Hello,

so... my 'health worries' started just over 2 years ago when I noticed pain underneath my arms but I was at that time in a country where I did not necessarily want to go see a doctor so I waited. The pain stopped after a few months so I did not worry too much. Almost a year later, I started being always extremely tired (I did not lack any sleep) and I stopped having my period. So I went to the doctor. Blood tests were done, apparently everything was ok and the doctor told me that I should switch to another pill. I did that and everything seemed again a little better (but not completely) At the beginning of fall (last year) I stopped taking the pill completely. When I looked at the results of my blood tests, there were some things that were a little bit out of the norm, but according to the doctor, nothing serious. Also around that time, friends of mine started telling me that I was constantly shaking (my hands, and even my body). This year, I started feeling worse and worse. I have a constant tension on the side of my neck, the pain underneath my arms came back (just worse) and I started sweating excessively, I stopped having my period again, I have a pinching pain (not too strong) in the side of my head and don�t feel too good overall. Since I just moved, I do not have a family doctor so I went to a walk in clinic. First, I went because of my period. STI tests were done � everything negative, pregnancy negative, too (even though I knew I did not have any STIs and wasn�t pregnant). Apparently, I had a yeast infection. Medication taken, nothing got better. The same week I went to a different walk in clinic because of the pain underneath my arms. In the beginning, I was worried that maybe I could have breast cancer since I have close family members who had it. The doctor checked vaguely, told me that she did not find anything and that I should stop drinking coffee (apparently that�s where the shaking and the pain came from). So I game up on coffee (still drink decaf though), the pain is a bit better but otherwise nothing changed. Two months ago, I noticed a really uneven patch in my mouth, on my palate. It was really little and when going over it with my tongue, it felt like a little dent. Over the last month, this �patch� has become huge and yesterday I noticed bumps on the back of my tongue. They are about 2 by 2 millimeters. On one side there are like 3 and on the other 2. I am actually sure that there are more behind them, but this is all that is visible to me. Today, for the first time, the back of my head hurts (also a pinching pain � I don�t know how else to describe it). Also, the feeling when I swallow has changed. It feels a bit like if I was getting tonsillitis (but I�m not). Already 2 weeks ago, I made an appointment at the dentist (who specializes in oral cancer) but it is not for another 2 weeks.
I know that what I am describing here is all aver the place and that no one can really tell me much about it. I just know that there is something seriously wrong and I can�t figure out what. Up until now, I was worried but not really that much. Since I discovered that half of my upper mouth feels completely different to what it should (it doesn�t hurt though) and that I have bumps on my tongue, I am starting to freak out a bit. I am only 28 and had, until 2 years ago, never one single complaint about my health.
I have almost no knowledge about any kind of cancer (except breast cancer) but I did do research on oral cancer in the past few weeks and I am worried that possibly I might have palate cancer or some other kind of oral cancer. I really have to wait until I see a dentist but I was going to ask� Is anything of what I have described, in your opinion, possibly linked to oral cancer? Is there anything you can tell me? Thanks for any info�

Hi Cherry!

Welcome to OCF, sorry to hear you are having health concerns. Just to be clear, where there are Dr's who do check these forums for medical accuracy, they do not comment even though we do have a few medical professionals on these forums. That being said, I'll offer my opinion.

You've identified a concern in your mouth and have contacted a medical professional to have it checked out, which is "exactly" what you should do. For peace of mind you'll want the area biopsied as that is the only way to confirm cancer, that is the first step really.

We have a saying on these boards, that it's NOT cancer until a biopsy says it is, so where this is troubling don't let it take over your mind and freak out. We could do the "what if" game and speculate all day long on what it could be, which it could be a number of different things and not cancer. Let's spare you the mind freak and the other forum members time and let the medical professionals get to the bottom of the mystery.

Now normally the way it works is a dentist will identify an area of concern and send you to an Oral Surgeon or Ear Nose and Throat Dr to have the area biopsied. They will then send the sample to a pathologist who will confirm or deny cancer. Start there, and try to take one step at a time...getting too far ahead will only cause undo stress and worry. Just make sure to communicate how important for peace of mind a biopsy is for you.

Hope that helps, keep calm and just take the steps above. Let us know what the results are and we'll go from there.

Keep your chin up, again, don't let fear and worry take over.

Eric

The bumps at the rear of your tongue are probably normal. Everyone has bumps back there called circumverate papillaie (sp?. They are basically large taste buds. Smaller versions cover the tongue itself. I would also mention that the way the inside of your mouth feels is very dependent on the moisture level, not to mention that the surfaces of the mouth change naturally over time anyway. But if you feel strongly, ask for screening. Screening isn't a bad idea anyway to be honest, even if you feel great.