I rang my dad up tonight to wish him happy fathers day.

He told me that on friday he went to the dentist and the dentist noticed a growth at the back of his mouth, on his gum. He was taken to hospital immediately for a chest x-ray and has to have a biopsy on Tuesday, and an MRI scan within 30 days.

We are fearing the worst, how likely is it that there is something wrong? He is 43 and has smoked since 18 but gave up 6 months ago now.

Can anyone offer any advice??

There are many benign things that appear in the mouth. Having said that, his many years of tobacco use are not a good sign for what this might be. Clearly the biopsy is going to tell the tale. The other tests will reveal (if it is something serious), how extensive it may be. First a definite determination of what doctors and patients are dealing with is necessary, and second a determination if it is localized or spread. We wish him a positive out come from the tests, but if you find that it is not, we are all here to help you work through the questions that will likely arise.

As far as the question about odds, no one here or anywhere on the web is going to be able to tell you anything of real meaning.