Hi. First time poster. First I want to say that I have been lurking for the past couple of days and have been so impressed by the strenght and fortitude of all of you. It really warms mt heart. I have a friend who is now in the end stages of Pancreatic cancer and his strength and positive attitude blows me away. I am writing to you because I have found a small painless white bump on the side of my tongue that has me a little freaked out. I will be 46 in about ten days and have been a smoker since I was a teenager. The thing is, I was at the Dentist for a routine exam earlier this month and my dentist did a visual exam of my mouth and tongue and didnt spot anything out of the ordinary, and I had two fillings last week and again she didnt seem to spot anything. I found it about five days ago while flossing my teeth. I do recall biting the very side of my tongue last week which oddly was painless but cant remember which side of my tongue?

I hate to bother you guys with this as you are indeed dealing with and surviving cancer, and maybe I am being overly paranoid especially considering my friend, but I would appreciate any input you can give me. I have a few photos but cant seem to figure out how to attach them to my comment.

Baron, welcome to OCF! I hope whatever you have going on isnt serious and you really wont need to stick around.

Any sore you have that last for 2 weeks or longer and doesnt heal needs to be checked by a professional. I suggest finding an ENT who specializes in treating oral cancer patients. You will probably need a biopsy where they will take a tiny sample of the sore and send it out to the lab. Its not a big deal! It will take about a week for the results to return and its going to seem like you are waiting an eternity for those results. Stay busy to keep your mind off the worrying.

Now comes the lecture! I am a former smoker. I have become disfigured due to my little 'habit'. I wouldnt wish what I went thru on my worst enemy, I almost didnt get thru the 3 rounds of oral cancer. So its wake up time for you! Tobacco has over 50 known cancer causing chemicals added to it. Do yourself a huge favor and throw those cigs away! Do NOT replace it with any other form of nicotine, no chew or those electronic cigarettes (some have nicotine in them). Take a look at the following link....its what I look like now. It is also info about quitting and where to go for help.

Tips From Former Smokers, Christine

Christine. Thanks for responding. I went to your link and, wow, just wow. Story sounds just like mine and thousands of other teens who started smoking or dipping. It is amazing the inner arguments you have with yourself when the topic of quitting smoking comes up. "Oh i'll just cut down" or "i'll just switch to the e-cig. That will be much safer", or my favorite one " I have been smoking so long whats the point of quitting? The damage is already done and I will probably get cancer even if I do quit"! As the old saying goes, "Denial is not a river in Egypt".

I have to go see my primary care physician next week for a prescription refill and also have a dental appointment on 4/4. I also have a great ENT should the need arise. I was just hoping to put my mind at ease before then.

Not all dental professionals bother dealing with other issues in the mouth besides teeth. Anything else gets ignored. All dental offices across the country are doing their patients a disservice if they are not giving every single patient a full oral cancer screening at their yearly check up.

If your dentist or hygienist does not do a yearly screening, ask for one. Its where they lift up your tongue by holding it with a piece of gauze, feeling your neck and looking in your mouth. If they still dont do the screening then you need to find another dentist, one who is up to date and current with medical procedures.

Best wishes with everything! I hope you can quit smoking and the sore will go away before anything else needs to be done. By quitting now you will greatly reduce your chances of serious medical issues down the road. PLEASE quit!!! You do NOT want to go thru what I have...or maybe worse end up looking like me due to your smoking. Here is an interesting fact...for every single person who dies from tobacco related causes, another 20 more are left living with life long medical problems. Im one of those 20.

Good luck!!!

Thanks Christine. My Dentist is pretty much on it. As I mentioned in my initial comment, she gave me an oral exam (with the gauze) but did not mention seeing anything.

Baron,

I agree with Christine.

I too had a white spot on the side of my tongue my Dentist ignored it. I went back to him at least 4 times he gave me anitbiotics it didn't help. I went to a different Dentist the first thing he said when he saw it was cancer.

I then went to an Oral Surgeon he did a biopsy sure enough it was cancer.

Wait a couple of weeks if he doesn't go away go to an Oral Surgeon and request a biopsy don't let anyone talk you out of it.

Hope all goes well for you,
Connie

Baron - Please do get yourself to an Oral Surgeon, hopefully one experienced in seeing oral cancer patients. My son (a non smoker) had a sore under and to the side of his tongue and kept putting off seeing the dentist because he had no insurance at the time. When he finally saw the dentist who sent him to an Oral Surgeon for a biopsy, it had grown to a Stage 2. The sooner you get the biopsy, the sooner you can find out for sure what it is and can start taking positive steps to fix whatever is. Your health is important, not just for yourself, but for everyone who cares about you! Keep in touch and let us know what happens.

Baron,

This is all great advice. Just put one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing. If that "sore" (which needn't hurt to be serious) is still there after 2 weeks, don't dally and get an excisional biopsy. That's the only way you'll know what it is. I hope that this is nothing.

It's never too late to stop smoking...never! Good luck and take care of your health.

Best regards,
Kerri

Thanks everyone. Hopefully this is just a result from biting my tongue and it is just a tiny piece of tongue flesh that will get smaller and fall off or a fibroma of some kind. I intend on following up on it regardless. I have been thinking, back in my youthful wild days I caught genital warts which I assume is of the HPV family. I havent had an out break since my initial infection. Is it possible to get some kind of wart or HPV type thing on the tongue? I opened a Photobucket account and put a few pictures up of what I am dealing with. Don't mind the candida, I have been dealing with that on and off for years.
http://s1302.beta.photobucket.com/u...0330_zpsb508e340.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

Just wanted to give an update. The bump on the side of my tongue has gotten smaller but has not yet disappeared. I went to my GP today who said it didn't look too bad, but if it isnt gone in a couple of weeks I should go to the ENT. Screw that! If it isnt gone in another week I am going to the ENT. He also said my vitamin D level was low and wants me on a supplement which also may help clear up whatever this bump is. Also, I am happy to say I have quit smoking. Today is day four. I am still climbing the walls a bit, but it is getting easier.