Hi everyone. I am undiagnosed and i hope it is ok that i post on here but i feel that this is a good place to go for support and help with questions :)I am 25 years old and I have noticed my soft palate being quite red for a while now (definately the last 2 months) and i believe it has been that way for much longer. I never payed much attention to it until recently. I went to see my doctor a couple of weeks ago about the roof of my mouth and he was unsure what it was. He told me to come back in 3 weeks and he would refer me to an oral surgeon. I also told him about some enlarged neck nodes and he said they were not large enough to worry about and gave me an antidepressant ( due to excessive tiredness) ... The next day i went to see an ent and he looked at my mouth and throat, and said that my palate looked like it had thrush bc it was beefy red. He also stated that my throat looked ok and prescribed me a nasal spray to help with excessive mucus in my throat. It is not comming from my sinuses...just my throat. Well I have finished my treatment for thrush and no change. It is all still there. Most of my hard and soft palate are completely covered with what almost looks like a red rash. The hard palate is covered with what looks like red pin like dots and it fades into a very red soft palate... almost like all of the spots just get very close together. I know this is a bad description but its all i have. It feels almost raw when i run my tongue on it. It is not very painful and looks alot like erythroplakia. My concern is that it looks like it is spreading down my throat. Another major concern is that i was diagnosed with HPV ( not sure of type but it was a wart causing type). All of my pap smears have been within normal limits and i have never been told by my gyn that i have dysplasia on my cervix or any such problem. I was told by my gyn that i should not worry about it bc me and my husband would more than likely share that type. So therefore, i have potentially been exposed to HPV in the mouth. I am not a smoker and i dont drink other than occasionally. I cannot get into see an oral surgeon for about 3 weeks and i am absolutely terrified as i don't believe if this is cancer it should wait. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated! I am already terrified of cancer and feeling so sick over this.

Klee welcome to OCF. Im hoping you will continue to get help until you are diagnosed. It sounds a bit unusual to prescribe an antidepressant for the symptoms you have given. Im not a doctor but have seen many people pass thru here with all kinds of symptoms. Some were lucky and had nothing serious wrong while others have been given some bad news of having oral cancer. I hope you have nothing serious going on. I would suggest finding an ENT or oral surgeon who is very familiar with treating oral cancer patients. Some ENTs specialize in tube in childrens ears while some oral surgeons do cosmetic dentistry or remove wisdom teeth. This is why you need to ask if they treat many oral cancer patients. You want a doctor who will do whats necessary to give you a definite answer to whats going on. Enlarged nodes could be a sign of infection or it could mean you have a problem. This is why its so important to find a good doctor. Please keep us posted of your progress. Best wishes!

thankyou for your reply! i believe the antidepressant was bc i told him that i was worrying so much lately about all of this and that i felt so exhausted most of the time. I just hate the waiting. The nodes in my neck feel so enlarged but my physician and ent both said they didn't feel overly large. Just a bit swollen. I have had one enlarged lymph node for about 10 years that has always been enlarged. Never biopsied. The surgeon that saw it said he felt that is was a nonreactive node and nothing to worry about. I'm not sure. I have always felt like i had pain in my lymph nodes but i wonder if i am stressing making it worse. Do you know if HPV normally presents as a flattened red area on the palate or if it is normally a small lesion? It seems strange for it to be all over my soft palate but i could be wrong. I feel like i am overly worried about all of this due to the death of a family member from cancer recently. Im just not sure how to deal with all of this and im very scared. any thoughts?

Hi, Klee
I'm sorry for your loss of a family member - I am sure that is adding to your stress.
At this point, the thrush medicine didn't work, so I think the next step would to follow up with the ENT and ask for some diagnostic work to maybe get a better handle on what it is.
Write your questions before you see him and write down the answers and don't get rushed talking to him.

Hi- and welcome - definitelt go to a different ENT - one experienced with oral cancer. The nodes do sound like an infection or reaction of some sort likely to the rash in your mouth - there are many people here who've had palate cancer one will likely be along to explain how their cancer presented -re - the HPV thing while it may be an issue at some point - only two types actually cause OC - and generally these present in the tonsillar area in the mouth - or base of tongue (not visible to the naked eye) so if it is cancer of the palate - its likely not HPV related. It truly does sound like a rash of some sort - (btw thrush can be a bugger to get rid of... It takes hold sometimes if you immune system is compromised - and likes sugar so steer clear of it for a bit to see if that helps! ) but definitely push to get an answer it will ease your mind and put you on the path to feeling better - sorry on the loss of a family member - this disease can be terribly unfair. Take Care

Hi,
One thing that I thought of when I was reading your post is that the HPV that causes warts is not the HPV that causes cancer.
I totally agree that you should find an ENT that has OC experience.
I also wondered...are the lymph nodes that you are feeling squishy or hard? Do they hurt? Are they on both sides? Not a definite tell tale of anything, I'm just curious.
Keep in touch with us. We are here for ya!!
Kathy

I don't think it's unreasonable at this point to ask for a biopsy or a culture (or both) to confirm exactly what you are dealing with. It's been going on for a long time and has not responded to recent treatment. The only way any doctor can know for sure what something is or isn't is to get a sample of cells under a microscope.

It doesn't sound like typical symptoms of oral cancer, but something's not right. They may be able to do a scratch biopsy or something not too invasive. Once you have a diagnosis, you can get effective treatment and put your mind at ease.

Please don't hesitate to come back for support. I know it's easier said than done, but try to stay calm and please keep us posted. Here's to hoping it's nothing serious and it's something that can easily be treated/cured.

Best wishes,
Kerri

Hi thanks for your reply. The lymph nodes are on the left side. I have had one enlarged one for 10 years and I am not concerned about tht one. I was told it is nonreactive. But now on the back of my neck there is an enlarged one. My doc has checked it twice and does not seem concerned about it. I am having lots of pain and tension on the left side of my neck also. I have thought of seeing a chiropractor. I have just never really been a believer in them. He did some blood work and checked my sed rate and is going to call me results tomorrow