35 year old male. I've used smokeless tobacco for almost 20 years. Sometime last year I began entertaining the idea of quitting, but did not until seven days ago. I never thought I would allow this to continue for so long, but alas here I am. Unfortunately, willpower wasn't my only reason for stopping. I have discovered that my gums are very fragile (especially where the tobacco would sit), and what could be described as a small sore at the junction of the tooth and gum (gingiva?) has been slow to heal over the last week. I have started brushing my teeth with my finger, and it appears to be healing, albeit slowly. Adjacent to this, on the inside of my cheek, there are white areas which I assume to be leukoplakia. From what I've read these are precancerous lesions which have a propensity to develop to cancer in 1-20% of people, so the majority are benign. My plan is to give myself 2-4 weeks to see what changes occur, and then make a decision as to whether to schedule an appointment. Though in all likelihood I will probably make an appointment regardless.


I know its a long shot, but my reason for joining this forum is to hear from others who have dealt with leukoplakia in the setting of smokeless tobacco, either personally or as a healthcare provider. I know most are smokers, but maybe there's someone out there.

At any rate I'm done with tobacco, and I'm a little embarrassed it had to come to this in order for me to quit.

Welcome to OCF. The golden rule around here goes like this... any sore that has been inside the patients mouth for 2 or 3 weeks and has not healed on its own should be checked by a professional. Thru a biopsy the professional will be able to determine exactly what the sore is and weather its cancerous or not.

By a professional I mean either an ENT or oral surgeon who specializes in oral cancer. They can visually examine the patient and may make an educated guess but only thru the biopsy will they know for certain.

Hopefully your sore is nothing serious. There are so many variables involved including a patients predisposition. Ive seen many come to this forum who have used cigarettes, some used chewing tobacco while others have not and still have developed oral cancer or a pre-cancerous lesion. Then there is another group of seemingly healthy non-smokers who are HPV+ with tumors they cant see in the base of their tongue.

Best advice I can give is anyone using tobacco is to avoid all forms. There are so many proven cancer causing additives in not just cigarettes but also in chewing tobacco.

There are only a few members here who have only been diagnosed with leukoplakia and without it turning into oral cancer. We do have quite a few whose cancer began as leukoplakia. Here is more info about leukoplakia...

Leukoplakia info from main OCF pages

More detailed info about Leukoplakia

Welcome and FANTASTIC on quitting the tobacco. Going forward thank yourself everyday as your body grows stronger and less subject to cancer. You are well informed jut by the fact of joining here so just keep a close eye for anything unusual and make a beeline to the ENT. Don

Hi. welcome - congrats on quitting - keep the area as clean as possible and rinse frequently and brush (super soft baby brush?) after every meal, be meticulous in your cleaning - it should clear up. If not - as you said.. Better to have it checked, can shewing tobacco cause cancer? Absolutely. And once you have it it can be hard to get rid of - based on location, so better safe than sorry. Hugs!

I to chewed 30 some years. How I found out was 2 little lesions where I put my snuff. Like you I put it off,cause I really didn't want to know. First guy I seen told me right away he thought it was oral cancer,but wasn't sure. So he sent me to a oral surgeon,he pull 2 teeth said he seen a bad rootcanel. Everything healed back up in my mouth,but lymph node was still swollen. He then sent me to a ENT told me pretty much same thing your to young for this type of cancer,you would have more signs then what u do. Well he gave me more pills told me to come back in 2 weeks. When I did node was infected went to hospital to have drained that's when I found out it was squamous cell. Stage 4 in jaw and in lymph nodes in my neck. I guess what I'm saying is don't wait go as soon as u can!

Welcome. I know it's hard as you want to trust your dr. and I believe generally they do have your best interest at heart. However - there is something to be said for going to the best. Hopefully you are being seen at a top cancer facility. The first guy was on the money. With this cancer young doesn't matter anymore. We've had kids as young as 17 with it.

Best of luck with your treatment and welcome!!! ;o)