Like so many here, I'm playing the waiting game, and not so patiently.

I'm a female who is turning 46 on 7/18, I'm a non-smoker (always have been), and a social drinker (infrequent). I am a dental phobe who has avoided dentists for many years, including regular cleanings, so my oral hygiene is less than great.

Around the 9th of June, I woke up with a painful lump on my palate near the rear-most teeth. I'm not a good judge of size, so I can't tell you how big it was, but it was hard, really painful to the touch, and it hurt to chew on that side. I went to the dentist. He prescribed an antiseptic rinse and told me to come back in a few days to see his partner.

I went back a few days later, and his partner said, "It's a canker sore...It should heal up within the next week to 10 days". The chewing pain had all but subsided. He took some pix and we parted ways.

Fast forward to this past Thursday. No change in the way the lump feels. I started having extreme pain chewing on that side - not from contact with the lump, but the teeth themselves really really hurt. I went back to the dentist and he took another picture. Lump is bigger, when compared to pix from the 12th. He says, "I don't like it" (not reassuring) and he's referring me to a specialist for an appointment either Thursday (same day) or Friday (REALLY not reassuring). He left the room and went to start making phone calls to find me an appointment.

Long story short, I saw an oral surgeon on Friday afternoon. He poo-pooed it as nothing to really worry about and said we could wait another couple weeks or take it off now. Biopsy results would take two weeks. I told him I wanted to take it off, and he double-booked me on his next appointment (Tuesday morning, day after the 4th of July). Actions speak louder than words...he said it was nothing to worry about, but double-booked me on his next surgical appointment. Hmmmm.

In case you couldn't tell already, I'm a worrier.

Tuesday morning, I went in, and he took the lump off (3.5 weeks old). I had IV sedation (remember I'm a dental phobe) so it was easy peasy. Since the palate isn't really a stitchable area, he put some super glue on the area. When I got brave enough (yesterday) to see what the perimeter of the super glue area was, I was very surprised to see it was much larger than the lump had been. Last night, the super glue fell off, so now I can tell that the minced up area is definitely larger than the lump was.

When I woke up, the surgeon was still in the room. I asked him how it looked, and he said, "Pretty benign".

All throughout this time, I've had intermittent pain in my ear and the size of the glands in my neck on that side fluctuate a lot. Right now, they're kind of swollen - tomorrow morning, they could be down to nearly normal again.

From what I understand, the significant facts are that the lump was around for 3.5 weeks without healing or improving and my glands are swollen on that side (intermittently).

Would the oral surgeon have told me the truth about how it looked if he was worried about it, knowing that I'm a dental phobe and that I've got a two week wait for verification?

Can an oral surgeon tell without much doubt, by looking at a lump like this, whether it's malignant or not?

My appointment for follow up is 7/20. I'm going on vacation on 7/13, and I'm going to do my darnedest not to think about this.

Hi KarenBee

From one fellow dental phobic to another - I know exactly how scary that lump must have been to get you to the dentist. Until recently, I hadn't been near a dentist since he performed root canal therapy in about 1998. But after Alex got sick I decided to change the error of my ways. It took a new dentist with very small hands (a valuable pre-requisite I thought) 3 appointments to clean my teeth as I was white and shaking after 30 minutes (this with gas, music, and sunglasses). Dentist is now on my Christmas list as I can smile again and I am almost looking forward to my teeth cleaning experience next month as she will give me a new princess toothbrush and pat me on the head for being so brave .

Now on to your problems. It is pointless to tell you not to worry because you will. I will, however, tell you that if you had an abcess from being very naughty and not letting the dentist clean your teeth, it would have presented just as you describe. The inflammation would have made your actual teeth hurt and your glands would have swollen and become painful from the infection. Did you notice any pus or a bad taste in your mouth?

You have done the right thing though and got someone to look at it. 3 people have looked at it and none have given you any indication that there is anything sinister going on. Doctors don't usually lie, although they are human and make mistakes. I do believe however, that the surgeon would have given you an indication if he thought it was nasty. He could have speeded up the biopsy results too (I have witnessed rush jobs on biopsies that have literally been checked and diagnosed whilst the patient was still under anaesthetic). Alex's biopsy took only 2 or 3 days because the ENT thought it was nasty which, unfortunately, turned out to be true.

Your neck glands are reacting to the assault of surgery and I would imagine that your ears are receiving transferred pain from the surgery as well.

It's not unusual for surgeons to double book their surgeries in Australia (an idle operating theatre is a very expensive use of resources). I am not sure about procedures in the US but can't imagine that it is any different.

I would not presume to tell you it is NOT cancer, not even a doctor (which I am not) could diagnose or second guess over the internet. However, you have done all the right things and it is now just a question of waiting. Don't forget, that oral cancer is quite an uncommon cancer and very rare in non-smoking, hardly drinking 46 year old women. This is something we sometimes forget on this site as we have a heavy skew towards unusual (and special) patients.

Good luck with the waiting and keep us posted

Karen

Hi there - we're the third factor - non smoking, non drinking, and unexplainable! and I'm 46 too... But I agree with Karen on all counts - it does sound benign... Particularly the fluctuating node sizes. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong - but usually nodes (cancerous ones) just tend to get bigger. with an infection they fluctuate - try not to worry - and enjoy your vacation!!! I know it's not fun with this on your mind but really it isn't cancer until they say it is! Hugs hon!

Thanks, everybody! I'm sorry if I'm taking up your time on this board with something that may turn out to be nothing, but I've definitely been losing sleep over this. Thanks again.

PS: I never noticed any pus/bad taste in my mouth.

PPS: Abcess did cross my mind. If it was an abcess, I would think that the dentist would have seen it and known what to do, without referring me to a specialist.

NEVER EVER think you are taking up our time unnecessarily. We have all been to the "help me well" several times and everyone is always overjoyed when we worried for naught. No one has - in my experience - thought someone was "taking up our time with something that might be nothing". We have all been there, we are here for you, and we LOVE "turned out to be nothing!"

Hugs. Try to keep busy. Waiting truly is from hell.

Donna

What results did you get? any updates?