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