Hi! I'm so glad to have found this site. My father had oral cancer, as did his sister, so it runs in our family. He was a 'recreational smoker'- abt 1/2 pk a week for abt 5yrs. He quit 24yrs before his first lesion popped up. HE lost his fight at age 57-18 yrs ago. His sister didnt smoke at all. He drank wine at night(Italian) altho his sister rarely drank. She recently passed after a 2 yr fight. Her diagnosis was at age 65. So as you can tell we are very aware of any little change in our mouths-not so much we're crazy abt it-but we keep up with our regular check ups and do as much as we can to promote good oral health and not add to the odds against us. I'm 45 yrs old and have recently found a white spot on the left side of my throat-on the soft pallet above the tonsil area. I pushed on it thinking it was a tonsil stone and would pop out but no such luck. It doesnt hurt-and it doesnt feel too hard. It's been there about 2 - 3 months, and it has gotten a little bigger. I thought maybe it was a scratch from a potatoe chip or something and that it would heal itself. No such luck in the 'healing itself back to normal skin color' department. I was due for a cleaning so made a dentist appointment in 12 days. I know the dentist found my father's cancer and referred him to a specialist, but is this the right place to start? Am I concerned over nothing? I also smoked for abt 3 yrs-less than a pack a week and quite abt 22 yrs ago. I very rarely drink.
Thank you in advance for any help and information you can share!

Onespicymeatball