Hello my name is Bill,

This is my first post. I'm looking for someone that has been here before.

I've had numbness on the tip of my tongue and my lips for around 10 days now. I went to the family doctor 5 days ago and he gave me some special mouth wash and amoxacillin to take.

I've been doing some research online and this has brought me to this forum and this post. My mind is going/gone into overdrive to the point where I've lost 5 lbs in a week.

I've chewed Skoal for 27 years or so. I quit about a month ago. I chewed in my left cheek for all of the years. Since my numbness started I did more research online. I also have a "change" of my inner cheek from chewing. I hope you understand what I'm saying by change. It just feels funny. I have had a sore throat for a month or so as well.

I believe these are the only sysmtoms I have. My family doctor doesn't believe I have oral cancer or he is not telling me how he feels. Non the less I'm still in limbo.

Has anyone had the numbness before?

I'm due to go back to the doc. on Wednesday but don't see any reason in waiting since the drugs he gave haven't done anything in 5 days so what's 3 more. I'm tired of not knowing/being unsure.

Your feed back will be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Bill

Bill, you will probably get lots of suggestions to go see an ENT as soon as possible-for your own peace of mind.

Hi Bill,

Can't tell you why you have the numbness, but it is essential that you see and ENT or an oral surgeon. They will more than likely want to biopsy the tissue in your cheek. This is the only way to be sure if in fact you have anything to be concerned about. The biopsy is a very simple procedure with very little discomfort afterwards.

It's great that you stopped chewing and I wish you well. Please keep us posted as to what you find out.

Jerry

I third the motion -see an ENT or head & neck surgeon ASAP and forget the family doc. Some of them couldn't Dx cancer if it jumped out and smacked 'em. Given your history of chewing tobacco this is nothing to fool around with.

Thank you all for your advise. I will keep you informed as best as I can.

God Bless,

Bill

I like ENT's for this, but my first pick if you have one near you is an oral medicine specialist. I only became familiar with this group after starting OCF. They are seldom in private practice, but usually associated with teaching institutions and treatment facilities. They start out as dentists, then get a second degree in oral medicine. I spoke at their annual meeting this year and was really impressed by the knowledge base they all come from. They are at www.AAOM.com and they have a search engine to find people on their site. For sure I have some predudice here as my oral cancer was missed by the first ENT (otolaryngologist) that I went to see who put me on antibiotics. If you see one, just remember that they fall into two categories, one that sees the usualy infections, sore throats, etc. that your family gets, and the other is surgically oriented and is very involved in head and neck cancers. Clearly the second group has the eyes and experience to recognize what you have. But you have a dental school near you I guarantee you that they will have an oral medicine specialist and a pathologist at the school.