Some say I'm just paranoid but better safe than sorry. I usually end up posting here whenever I have some sort of anamoly in my mouth because I am having a heck of a time kicking the dip habit and I always think of the worst possible scenerio.

A little over 3 years ago I had a sore on the side of my tongue...( I may have had problems before then but thats the first time I actually got nervous about it).. it hurt and after abotu 2 weeks then it cleared up. Periodically it seems to return in the same place. I used to have a sharp edge of a tooth there but I had it removed. It used to be painful whenever it would flare up But lately if I have a "flare up" I get not what I would call painful but an uncomfortable feeling there. I've been to the dentist several times since it originally turned up. I've also been to an oral surgeon twice to have wisdom teeth removed as recently as a few months ago. He did a cancer screening last year I know .. but not sure about this past time. I was out of it because of the surgery. I also had a periodontist look at me last year and gave a full scale cancer screening. He did tell me I had geographic tongue but nothing else to worry about. When I feel around back there I dont feel anything strange. My question is what would cause something like this? Im gonna make another appointment with the dentist but has anyone heard of something like this where it comes and goes?

Oh and by the way, I just trashed every can of dip I had in the house.

Robbie, your last post just made my day!

Good for you!!

OK I talked the oral surgeon into seeing me today. He said it looked like an averaged size ulcer that was trying to heal and that he thought I might have been biting my tongue while I sleep. He gave me a perscription for an oral rinse called peridox I think . (Chlorhexidine gluconate is the generic name) He said to come back and see him next week and he expected it to be healed up. He said if it wasnt he would just cut it out. He said the procedure would be very simple and recovery wouldnt be any worse than when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. He also said I shouldn't worry because if it was anything serious and its been there that long i wouldnt have a tongue or I wouldnt be here. I remeber reading that pain was usually present in later stages of OC so if it hurt 3 years ago wouldnt it have grown or spread since then if it were malignant? What gets me about this is that it'll bother me for a while and then I'll go weeks or months and forget all about it. But the fact that the off and on cycle has been going on so long and its in the same place is what bothers me. Any input please?

Hi Robbie,

Glad to read the dip is gone.

What the oral surgeon gave you is Peridex. You got the generic right. Happy to hear that he will be doing a biopsy next week if it is not gone. That IS the only way to be sure that it is nothing to be concerned about. Healing from a biosy is nothing to be concerned about. I would say it's less of a concern than healing from wisdom teeth extractions.

Good luck.

Jerry

he sounded like he wasnt going to take just a piece but cut the whole thing out. Is that going to be the end of it?

Most likely he will just cut out a piece for the biopsy. The reason being is that if it is cancer, heaven forbid, you will need to have a doctor cut it out so they know that they got it as well as the margins around it. If your oral surgeon cuts it out, the doctor won't know where the margins are to make sure there was not any local spread. At that point they will then test the margins to see if there was spread and develop a treatment plan from there.

It probably is nothing, but please make sure to follow-up with a biopsy if it doesn't go away-regardless if you have pain or not.

I see what you;re saying senator but he said if its still there "we'll cut it out and be done with it" which gives me the impression that he plans on removing the whoe ulcer.... I asked if it was big or small he said it was just average. He doesnt seem to be very converned but I;ve been pacing the floor.

I REALLY hate to keep posting but I think I just need to vent and hopefully find some company and comfort here. I'm almost positive this thing goes and comes back at the same spot. I know it does go through phases where it doesnt hurt or irritate me I forget all about it. I don't know very much about the growth rate of these things. I'm 32 this all started 3 years ago. So wouldn't it be more than just "an average ulcer" by now if it was OC?

Robbie,

What Senator13 told you is correct. It is better not to remove the whole thing. In my case, the scc was so small, that the biopsy actually did remove the whole thing. When I went to the head and neck surgeon, he said that he wished that he had done the biosy, as there were no signs left of the scc. However, during the partial glossectomy, he made wide enough margins around the area where the tumor had been to be assured that there were clear margins. The pathology report confirmed this.

But, all of this hopefully will not pertain to you.

Jerry

WOuld you suggest that I go to a ENT instead?.. Or a Oconologist(sp?) Or should I just tell the oral surgeon to do a biopsy instead of removal? It seems to me that if the whole thing can be removed that would be good. I dont understand why its better to leave some. ANyway WHo should I go to in order to take the right course of action here?

If it does turn into something what disciplines do I need on my "team" and am I responsible for assembling this team? If not then who?
I certainly named this thread correctly

YOU NEED TO GO TO AN ENT AND HAVE A BIOPSY DONE. IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THIS GUY IS GOING TO REMOVE WHAT HE THIMKS IS A BENIGN TUMOR TO PLACATE YOU. NOT A GOOD REASON TO GO UNDER THE KNIFE. THEN YOU CAN MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE. THIS COULD ALL BE PRECIOUS TIME WASTED ON SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE. TRUST US ALL HERE, DONT WASTE IT.

Please have them only do a biopsy for the reasons I indicated above. I know that it may seem like more work, but if it is cancerous, they will send you to an ENT anyway for further treatment. You can have the oral surgeon do the biopsy, but just tell him you only want the biopsy, not everything extracted. If you don't feel that he is willing to do that, go somewhere else to have it done.

More likely than not, it is benign, but I am also 32, a nonsmoker/nondrinker and I had it for several months before they did a biopsy on me.

I know that my mom had pre-cancerous ulcers in her mouth for 10 years before she was diagnosed with scc she would often tell me that they bothered her more during certain times of the month it seemed strange but thats what she would tell me. The best thing for you to do is definately see an ENT and have a biopsy done for peace of mind.

Take
Care,
Dani

Ok so I am going to the doctor in about 12 hours and I am going to ask him to refer me to an ENT.... I am a walking bag of nerves at this point. I cant eat and I only sleep with the help of medication. My dad thinks its nothing to worry about and people tell me to relax until I know something for sure. I WISH I COULD

UPDATE.... I went to the doctor today. He said that it didn't look bad nor did it look like a typical cancer. He said if it is then not many people present this early in the game to aggresively manage it. He's going to send me to an ENT in 2 days and we'll go from there. But he said theres a 99.9% chance its nothing and if it is something its extremely early stage so I feel ALOT better. ANy advice for my ENT visit?

My advice is just to relax and get your mind off of it. You may be putting yourself under a lot of undue stress for nothing.

I agree with Amy. Remember, it's not cancer until they say it is.

I went to the ENT and he looked around but said he didnt see anything to biopsy. He told me to just keep getting my 6 month check up at the dentist and I would be fine. The problem is Im still not sure what makes my tongue bother me so much on that side. But I feel a WHOLE LOT better.

Returned to the oral surgeon today. He said that the ulcer was completely gone. He said he wouldve biopsied it but there wasnt anything there adn everything looked good. He said hes 99% sure its trauma related. But it still bothers me. but if theres nothing to biopsy then I guess that is that. ANy comments?

Robbie, stay off the tobacco forever.
Keep a close watch for anything new, see your oral surgeon or ENT in 3 months and again in 6 months. Trust these professionals.

If you continue to worry about something that is not there then you need to ask for counseling. Perhaps it is the result of guilt because you know that your tobacco use is bad for you.

In any case you do not seem to have oral cancer. Move on!