Im a 22 year old male, who used chewing tobacco(spitter) on and off for about 2 1/2 years altogether. A few months ago I had a night where there was some terrible pain on the left side of my jaw, and behind my ear on the same side. The pain made me dizzy and almost about to vomit, along with making it hard to open my mouth. This lasted only one night, so I didnt think to much about it. It did however get me to stop chewing for good.
Since then I have been able to feel some pain and discomfort occasionally around my ear on the left side. My lymph nodes are also swollen, along with my left tonsil, and my jaw cracks more than usual. There are some pink bumps towards the back of my tongue, that had me worried, then I learned they were normal.
I have a dentist appointment next week, but I have been worrying myself to death. Looking through the sites about oral cancer, just makes me confused. This has made me very stressed out, as my dad had a brain tumor and still has complications due to the meds they gave him, and the last thing my family needs is for me to end up with cancer. I know cancer cant be diagonsed over the net, but is there any reason to be worried about cancer?

I would be more worried about impacted wisdom teeth. You have all of the signs of an infection. Chewing is a very risky behavour. Check out Outdoor Texans website and you can see what you might be in for if you continue to chew. Caution - It's very graphic.

Rather than worry your self to death, get a referal to an ENT and have it ruled out. Statistically, the number of people with oral cancer in your age group is very small. You are wise beyond your age to be prudent about this.

First of all, congratulations on stopping the chewing tobacco. If you take Gary's advice and check out www.outdoortexan.com, the odds are you will never be tempted to go back.

Gary's suggestion that your wisdom teeth can be contributing to your prblem probably is, as always, good advice. I would like to add that some of your symptoms could indicate a TMJ (temporomandibular joint) problem. It is also possible that both things are going on at the same time.

I would suggest that you keep your appointment with the dentist and see what he/she has to say. A visit to an ENT may be indicated after your wisdom teeth and TMJ are checked out.

As you found out, the bumps on your tongue are normal and it is not uncommon for people to discover them when they are examining their mouth looking for problems. They are called papillae.

Please keep us posted as to what you find out.

Jerry