| | Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 2 Member | OP  Member
Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 2 | Hello, I used to be a smoker, and now I am very nervous about my oral cavity. I read that a possible symptom of oral cancer is thickening tissue. Could somebody explain what that means exactly? | | | | | Joined: Oct 2012 Posts: 118 Senior Member (100+ posts) | | Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2012 Posts: 118 | My husband had a hard white area on his tongue that thankfully was deemed to be nothing other than some sort of scar tissue. He described as hard like a newly formed scar. I hope that helps.
Bette/CG to husband Reggie 66
dx 1: SCC Soft Palate (12/06)
tx: chemo and rad
dx 2: SCC 6 cm tum rt. vocal chord (12/09)
tx: total laryngectomy with stoma, 2 nodes
dx 3: SCC 4 cm tum BOT (10/16/12)
Tx: partial gloss w/ mod deck dis 4 nodes incl. part. pharyngectomy
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | Oral cancer is rare so don't worry yourself needlessly. Do watch any sores that may stick around in the oral cavity for more than 2 weeks or any lumps that pop up on either side of your neck. If that happens go see an ENT, otherwise forget about this site and have a wonderful life!
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 7 Member | | Member
Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 7 | Hello Maiku.... I am no doctor, you may find the link below helpful, but the very site you are in now (OCF) provides a wealth of information to look through and become informed. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/oral/Patient/page3 National Cancer Institute In my opnion your best defense is regular checkups by a dentist who is very knowledgeable about Oral Cancer as well as your own personal exams if you should see changes in your mouth you do not understand or that last more than 2 weeks.
Last edited by timothy6003; 11-17-2012 03:42 AM.
Tim Cogdill
Base of Tongue Stage III w/ 1 lymph node SCC HPV +
DX October 2011
Last Radiation January 2012
Most Recent Scans have been NED
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 13 Member | | Member
Joined: Nov 2012 Posts: 13 | David,
I loved your reply!! and I checked out the link Tim provided. I came to this site about a month ago and I have all the risk factors and symptoms of upper throat cancer...but there is no 'mass to biopsy'. I've had horrible jaw/throat and neck pain for over 3 months. I had 2 'possibly broken' teeth removed. 4 rounds of Antibiotics/3 rounds of steriods, 6 dentists of varying specialties/a weekend in the ER/ENT and my oncologist (breast CA 2 yrs ago). Blood tests/2 CT scans and numerous xrays of my mouth and jaw. Does this sound like a Christmas song?
I continue to have a red sore throat, swollen tongue and ulcer after ulcer erupting in my tori. I've been told to just let it settle down, but I am nearing my wits end. Perhaps my tongue keeps that area inflammed, but I don't know what else to do. I have Magic Mouthwash and Anbesol and have been taking hydrocodene for 2 months so I can keep working. It hurts to talk, eat and swallow. I do salt water rinses 4x a day, that I hate. It burns my tongue. Thank you so much for listening. I am tired of not feeling good. Any avenues to pursue would be appreciated. My onc did order an additional blood test (?) of which the results are not in yet. I can get a PET scan, but it won't differentiate inflamed tissue vs a mass. | | |
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