Firstly I must admit that being a ex smokeless tobacco user for 10 years has caused me to be a bit of a hypocondriac <<-spelling>.

I'm 30 yo, and I have been very vigilent in paying attention to what it going on in my mouth and around my neck. Recently I noticed that I have had some feeling of soreness in my throat and it could be my normal self being a bit anxious about everything in life, but after a few days I use my finger to slide it down along the back of my tongue - very far into my throat. It made me gag several time, but I did find six medium soft masses. They were stacked vertically <2 on left, 2 in center, and two on right>. I'll assume that that is normal tissue <until the next visit to my oral surgeon>. I have also been experience some random tingling on the left side of my head and other random part of my body <this could be a reaction to anti-anixety medicine - I HOPE>

After I got over that I began feel closer to the top of my throat and around the side with my index fingers - 1 on each side. I had my tonsils out as a child, and I don't know if this has always been there or not, but I have a mass that is perfectly blended in with my other tissue on only the left side of my mouth were my tonsil use to be.

My general concern before I call my oral surgeon and make my 3rd appointment in 6 weeks is it possible that pencil eraser sized mass <that looks just like regular tissue> where my tonsil use to be - could it just be old scare tissue or something not worth worrying about?

On more thing. If anyone know for sure what the base of the tongue <deep in the thoart> is suppose to feel like I would apprieate some insight.

Sorry my thoughts on this post have been a bit scattered, but I sometimes get worked up and write without staying on track.


Thanks,
Tom

Hi Tom,
and welcome to the forum. We have a saying around here - "It's not cancer until the pathology report comes back". You are wise to thoroughly investigate any anomolies in your throat. By "third appointment in 6 weeks" does that mean you have already been seen twice and if so what was the outcome?

I don't how you can do a self exam like that - they have to anesthetize me to get their gloved hand far enough down my throat to palpate the area where my tonsil was.

None of us are going to attempt to diagnose you over the internet ;-) There are many things it could be besides cancer - don't get ahead of yourself. Keep us posted.

If you haven't quit the smokeless tobacco -do it now.

Gary, thanks for the encouragement.

I first went to the oral sugeon because of some white lines I had along my lower jaw line. Wanted a second opinion from what my dentist may have missed. So far the oral surgeon doesn't even want to biopsy those areas. He wants to montitor. To answer your question 1st appt - consult and he had trouble seeing because I had been brushing too hard. 2 appt to see the area of concern, since I've stopped brushing to hard over that area. 3rd appt - being made today - he'll probably send me to the shrink for being paraniod - LOL.

I won't get graphic, but once I felt the bottom of my tonge I had to find out for myself what else is there. That determination caused me to forget about anesthesia an get over the finger down the throat bologna. It was tough, but I had to feel around.

Question - Do Oral Sugeons use a scope to look into you thoat, or are they primarily for upper oral areas?


Thanks again Gary!


Tom

The oral surgeons and oncologists I have seen typically use a gloved finger to feel all around the lining of the mouth, all around and under the tongue -- and the hands to feel up and down the neck area. Then they will use a small mirror to look down the throat (the challenge being to let them see enough before the gag reflex kicks in).

The last time I had a followup with the oral surgeon who did my initial biopsy, he also used what I think was a toluidine blue mouth rinse (swish and spit) which I guess highlights any areas of the mouth where there is suspicious activity.

Tom -- I don't know if what you're feeling is abnormal or potentially cancerous. The general rule seems to be that if you do have a sore or other abnormal condition that doesn't heal or disappear within two weeks, it should be investigated further. I guess if I were you and I were going back for the third visit, I'd ask the oral surgeon what he sees, why he thinks it is or is not an area of concern, and what sorts of changes you should be watchful for. If you don't get convincing answers to those questions, it's probably good to get a second opinion.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

I really like this board - people are very friendly and repsond quickly to converstation that they have probably heard 1000 time before.

I have confidence in the oral surgeon. He is very through and seems to error on the side of caution. He showed me what to look for along my gum lines.

My newest area of concern (where my tonsil used to be) is very hidden and I would have never notice had I not be the paranoid person that I've become and started blindly feeling around my mouth. It is my fault for not bringing it to his attention. 1/4 of my problem maybe a phychological and I'm just a tad paranoid. I just want to be 100% certain that everything is ok. The "C" word just puts the fear of god in me, so not everything that I find I think of my tobacco use and I think of "C" immeadiately.

To ease your concerns, see an ENT who has experience with throat cancer. I think maybe your just over anxious but a good ENT will give you a much better understanding of whats going on in your throat.

Tom,

I haven't seen how long you have had some of these issues in your mouth. As Cathy suggests, two weeks and longer is cause for concern and even if you like the ENT you are seeing, you want one that has significant experience with oral cancer.

My doctor used a scope but only after other tests indicated this was most likely the primary tumor site. The radiation oncologist also used a scope but this was after diagnosis and to confirm the size for developing the radiation therapy plan.

If you have been back to the same doctor 3 times and you still have questions it would probably give you peace of mind to seek out another pair of eyes. It reminds me of trying to proofread your own work, over and over and still missing something. The mind allows you to look at something over and over and at some point you just look but don't see anything new.

I am hoping you are only a bit paranoid as I don't want to see anyone go through this terrible disease.

As Gary said, I hope you have stopped the tabacco use.

Ed

Uptown and everyone -

I can't thank you all enough for being kind and offering good advice. I just want to be clear. I started out at the dentist with a concern over a white line on my lower outer gum. The dentist said that is was nothing to worry about, and to not worry.

My inside told me to get a second opinion - not from a dentist, but from an Oral Surgeon. THIS IS IMPORTANT. 1st visit to the oral surgeon - he was unable to see the area of concern clearly because I brush so hard with a tooth brush that he ask for me to come back in two week after I did not brush the area so that he could get a better idea of what is there. 2nd visit he was ready to do a biopsy and after review the area (without the damage from brushing too hard) - he said that it was nothing, and for me to return in 6 weeks for a safety measure and review of the area.

THIS IS THE REASON FOR MY POSTING. I got on the internet and began looking into Oral Cancer. One thing lead to another and I began my own feeling around my throat with my index finger. I think that the base of tongue has 6 "relatively" large areas of soft tissue that is suppose to be there. 2 stacked vertically - 1 stack on the left, 1 in the center, and 1 on the right. My plan is since I found a few areas that I'm going to monitor (althought I don't want to aggrevate the are by touching it too much) until my next visit with the Oral Surgeon (August 23rd). I actually called a sugical nurse friend and she said that the area near my tonsil is most likely scare tissue from the tonsil removal surgery (years ago). I can believe that because it is the same color as my surrounding tissue.

Still I am nervous about the whole situation, and I want to have a good final check out from the oral surgeon before I go to the ENT. If I don't get a good feeling from the Oral Sugeon - I'll go to the ENT anyway. I want to believe that the Oral Surgeon is excellent. He has always been very through, patient and he does a lot work the Ohio State University (I would like to think that he sees all the new diagnosis and treatments)


Please continue to provide advice as you see fit. Do any Dr's ever read and reply to us?


Thanks again to all of you wonderful people who have responded and truely care!!!!


Tom

If doctors DO respond to any of these posts they are very discrete about it. Doctors in general are reluctant to give out their email addresses.

Like Ed says - find a competent ENT or Head & Neck surgeon for the most accurate Dx. I have white lines also but they are from chewing. There's a lot of weird anatomy in the throat that we usually aren't aware of. I actually thought that one of my salivary glands was a tumor - they had a good laugh over that one! Then there's the staining from fillings. I never noticed any of this stuff before. But that doesn't change my advice to quit tobacco products NOW or you will joining our little club.

You have every right to nervous - you are engaging in a very dangerous behavior -not much different from Russian roulette.

Maybe this is God giving you a wakeup call.

PS Sometimes surfing the internet can scare the crap out you. Ask your doctor about anti-anxiety medications.

Hi Tom. In reading through your posts, you sound like you're really worried. I can appreciate that and there is cause for concern, but my first piece of advise would be to try and relax. Throttle back a little bit and give yourself a chance to envision the possibility that it's not cancer. That being said, here's what my docs did to diagnose me. And this is pretty much the standard exam routine now a days.

This is what I call the ol' choke & scope routine.

1. The physical exam (choke). They feel around the outside of my neck and thoroughly inspect the inside of my mouth with a tongue depressor and flashlight. Then they grab my tongue with a piece of guaze, pull it forward out of my mouth and then look at the back of my throat with a dental-type mirror while having me try and say the letter 'e.' Of couse this is impossible, but it accomplishes what they want. After that they feel around in my mouth and press on my tongue and the back of my tongue with their gloved fingers.

2. The scope. They numb one of my nostrils with xylocaine and snake a small lighted scope up my nose and down the back of my throat. They look around, have me pronounce the letter 'e' and look at my larnyx.

That's it. Even though it's pretty uncomfortable, it doesn't really take that long. In terms of diagnosis, even with all this looking around, it's the biopsy that is the final determination of disease.

Here's to hoping it's nothing to worry about.

-Brett