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Please help me. I am not sure what this is on my tongue. I have used chewing tobacco but not for a long time. Me and my roommate shared 10/12 cans but rarely ever actually finished it. We would throw it out and say we are going to stop and than a week or two later we would buy another can. I quit for about two months and than started up again and after about 5 dips i stopped and the next day i noticed this on my tongue. Please help me! I have already scheduled a Dr's appointment but I would like to know if anyone knows what it is. I am DONE with chewing tobacco! No more of it ever. It doesn't really hurt but I notice that it is there.

Hi Greg!

I know you must be very scared right now. Im sorry but there isnt anyone here who will be able to tell you what it is. I would suggest going to an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist or an oral surgeon. Make sure they specialize in oral cancer. This does NOT mean I think its cancer! I dont know. Only thru a biopsy would they be able to tell exactly what it is. If it has been there longer than 2 weeks then its time for a medical professional to check it. Do not let them brush you off due to being young. I have known many oral cancer patients who were anywhere from only 17 years old and up at the time of their diagnosis. Another thing you may want to look into is getting the Guardisil shot to help protect you from the HPV strains which could cause oral and several other cancers.

I am happy to hear you are quitting using chewing tobacco. Every single cigarette or pinch of tobacco causes irritation and damage to your body. I am a former smoker and wish I had quit years ago before smoking ruined my life.

Good luck!!!

Thank you for your advice Christine

Dont panic. I know its very scary not knowing what the sore is but worrying will only make you feel lousy. Worrying will never change what the sore is. Try to keep yourself busy so the time passes while you wait for your appointment. Its a big waiting game. Its usually a 3 visit thing. first the consult and checking your insurance to cover a biopsy. Next is the procedure and third is about a week later the results.

Best thing you could do is to get rid of the irritant (tobacco). The sore could be nothing more than irritation from the chemicals in the tobacco or even from your tongue rubbing on your tooth. I hope thats all it is and that you do not really need to be part of our group.

Hope your roommate has also followed your lead with stopping the tobacco use. Everybody thinks it cant happen to them, that its always the other guy. Everyone here was 'the other guy'.

I will give you a link for some photos. You can check them out and be able to see why I cant tell you what I think your sore is. Some of the photos you would think must be cancer but they arent.

I would love to see the link to some photos. And you are making me feel a little better. I do not understand how after just a little bit of time I could be in this situation. I know people that have been chewing for years and have no problems (that I know of). I know people that are on my baseball team that chew almost a can a day and I was never close to that. I rarely even did it back to back days. Only for maybe a week at one point did i do it everyday and that was a few months ago. Thank you again for being here!

Here is the gallery. Click on each photo. Then click on 'diagnosis'

http://oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/slide_show.htm



What can cause major problems for one person can be no big deal to another. Everybody is a little different, we all have different hereditary traits. There are also diseases which some are more susceptible to get. The 'why' is something even doctors cant tell you.

Try your best not to worry, it wont help it will only make you feel lousy. Stress isnt healthy for anyone. Get it checked out and if it would be anything serious take care of it right away.

Good luck!!!!

Good luck, Greg!

Get an incisional biopsy by an oral surgeon or ENT if it has been there for more than 2 weeks. You also want to make sure that your specimen is sent to a lab that has pathologists experienced in detecting oral cancer markers. Don't wait on this. Here's to hoping it's nothing to worry about and that you've taken a valuable lesson in the dangers of tobacco products. Regardless of your results, we are here for you whenever you need us. Please keep us posted.

Also, this is a great opportunity to pass the message to your friends that are using tobacco products. Many of us on this forum had no risk factors at all, and still ended up with oral cancer (like myself).

I went into my normal dentist yesterday because it has not been there for more than a few days. He checked it out and thinks that it was only caused by something irritating it. He checked the rest of my mouth and said that my mouth looks great. He said that it doesn't even look like I have used tobacco products. I have an appointment again with him in two weeks to check up on it. If it is not better by then I will go and get an incisional biopsy done. I am praying that it goes away soon. Never using a tobacco product again in my life. Not worth it. Thank you guys for the advice. I will post again when I have more news.

Thanks for keeping us posted, Greg! So far, so good. It seems like you have a good plan in place. I hope it disappears, but please keep watching out for things like that. I'm so glad that you aren't going to touch tobacco products again! Good for you!

Best wishes,
Kerri

Greg, congrats on the positive news!!! I am so happy to hear you have learned from this scary experience. Tobacco is not worth the possibility of losing your life. Keep an eye on it and follow up again in 2 weeks. Good job for being attentive to your health!!!