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Well my throat kinda feels like something is stuck in it, but more towards the top. My mouth is my main concern right now, lips burt 3 days ago, then stopped. Yesterday my gums were hurting and burning, and today the right side of my face and mouth feels numb. I dunno whats going on, all I know is that is driving me CRAZY!!! I never know what I'm going to wake up to the next day. Do you guys think I'm going to the right kind of doctor? I too have quit smoking, after smoking for over 15yrs. Congrats to u Dell for doing that. It's the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But all this worrying is killing me. It's easy to say not to worry, but hard to do.

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You are asking questions that no one here can really answer. Everyone has different symptoms, you have got to see what a doctor who has looked in your mouth, samples tissues etc. has to say. Anything else that we tell you is going to be speculations and guessing by lay people. You are going to have to wait for the doctor's conclusions. So far though you sound like someone that has infections (viral or bacterial). The emotional ups and downs of waiting are certainly not easy, but you've got to deal with it.... the alternative is just to add anxiety issues to the fire.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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Many of us had no symptoms at all or symptoms that were pretty vague until the tumor got very large. In my case I had a tumor growing on the right tonsil and, at first, the only symptom was some slight horseness. After a period of time elapsed (and several visits to a GP, etc.) it got large enough to displace my uvula and cause sleep apnea type symptoms at night. During that period, I also had a sensation of something being caught in my throat. By this time it was readily visible, yet until I went to a knowledgable ENT, was undiagnosed as cancer. I never had any experience of pain. A few here have had some pain associated with their cancer but every cancer seems to be a little different so the only way to know for sure is what Brian said in his post and wait for the official diagnosis. It could be many things besides cancer so try to take a deep breath, get some rest and get it ruled out.

I might add, as well, that once you start looking closely in your mouth, you will notice parts of your anatomy that you have probably never been aware of. I thought that my salivary glands on my cheeks were a recurrence and my ENT and I had a good laugh over that one (after the fact of course). Many people, like myself, for some reason, tend to bite themselves and will develop a whiteish callous along the centerline of where your teeth meet.

Last edited by Gary; 02-24-2008 10:28 AM.

Gary Allsebrook
***********************************
Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
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"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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For those of you with oral lichen planus do take note that it is one of the risk factors for oral cancer to develop so keep a close eye on it. My husband had lichen planus for approximately 15 years before he developed oral cancer. A specialist dentist discharged him after several years of surveilance and said it was rare for it to become cancerous. Do practice good oral hygiene and have regular checkups and cleaning of your teeth. A good idea is also to go to a dentist that has a VELscope for oral cancer screening.


Caregiver to husband Dx. Stage 4 SCC of gingiva with 3 nodes pos. Partial mandiblectomy with bone graft from iliac crest Dec. 2006. IMRT x30, Cisplatin x3. Completed Tx. March 15, 2007. Osteonecrosis & removal of graft & plate Oct. 2007. Recurrence of SCC Dec. 2007. Deceased Jan. 17, 2008.
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Lichen planus is not one of the major risk factors for oral cancers. There have been reported cases of SCC arising in a bed of LP, but the jury has never been in on whether or not LP was a precursor event to the development of OC. It is relatively common condition, with thousands of people in the US having it. As the previous poster said, any transformation is rare, if anyone can actually prove that it is the beginning of cellular changes that lead to dysplasia and malignancy at all.

Remember that tissue fluorescence, the science behind the VELscope, is non specific to oral cancers. It finds all kinds of things that have lost their fluorescence, including pizza burns, cheek bites, lichen planus, highly vascularized normal tissues like those under your tongue, keritanized and harmless tissues like the lina alba on the cheek that Gary mentioned, and much more. There are many reasons that tissues can lose their fluorescence and cancers are only a small fraction of them. While a useful tool, it is not diagnostic, only approved by the FDA for discovery (not diagnosis) of suspect tissue, and is only an adjunct to a proper visual and tactile screening by someone that understands what they are looking at.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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Hello everybody,
Well went back to my ENT yesterday. The mass on my adenoids had reduced, but not completely gone. I did show him my tongue, the places on the inside of my cheeks that was white, and he said it is leuplakia. I ask him, do I have cancer of the mouth or throat? He said no two or three times, but that word leuplakia, which he said was probably caused by antibiotics and my teeth against my cheeks, because they swell sometimes, was the cause of this. I go back to see him in a month, but I am still concerned. Doesn't leuplakia mean cancer or becoming cancer? From what I've seen on the net, it does. Luckily, my GP made a mistake and made me two different appointments with two different ENT's and I see a different one Thursday. I want to have a second opinion. Even though the mass has reduced, I guess meaning infection, I am still having a sore throat, white coated tongue, the white film that is on the inside of my cheeks, hurts at my tonsils and mouth and facial pain. I saw a neurologist today and he, of course, didn't know what was goin on, so he set me up with an MRI w/contrast and I will have one of those done. My ENT seemed to think it was more of inflamation of my nerves. I dunno, but I'll see I guess. I'll get back to you guys after my next appt.
Thanks for all the info everybody!!!

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It does not mean cancer. It is really common in smokers. Only about 20% of the time does it ever become dysplastic, which is a step towards malignancy. The usual treatment for leukoplakia is to have it lasered off if you or your docs feel it warranted. If your tongue is white you likely have a candida fungal infection, and that would account for some of the burning sensations that you have mentioned in previous posts. I am surprised that he did not comment on that. But if this is a candida infection, a week on Diflucan tablets and it should clear up.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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I did take diflucan for a week and I have nystatan. They do not help. The diflucan did help or at least cleared my tongue up a little, but it came back after 3 days. So are you saying that leuplakia isn't something to worry about? Or should I go have it removed right away? If all this was a yeast infection, how did I get that before I even took any antibiotics. I am so confused and frustrated.
Thanks for the reply Brian. I appreciate everything you can tell me.

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You can get a fungal infection all on its own, you don't need antibiotics or radiation treatments etc. to let it out. Read the main web site page on Candida, there is lots of information there. When you saw progress with the Diflucan that worked at least in part and for awhile, that should have told you something, (you were on the right track with the right diagnosis) and your doctors (with a stubborn case of candida) should have continued the Diflucan treatment for a longer period of time till it was completely eradicated. I would watch the leukioplakia for a while, it often resolves on its own. If you see any color changes or texture changes in it, then I would get it biopsied or lasered off in ther areas when change has occurred. It is not cancer at this time and may never be cancer.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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What about a sore throat that is never ending? I am having an awful time believing what is going on

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