Hi. I hesitated to join as I don't even know if what I have will end up with a diagnosis. I apologize if I am stepping on toes...

In June, I noticed what looked like a little canker sore on the left side of my tongue. Obviously, I thought nothing of it, until it didn't go away and then got bigger. I had no insurance, so it wasn't until September that I went to an Urgent Care to have it looked at. I was diagnosed with thrush and sent on my way with a script. It didn't work and I went to the dentist at the urging of my parents. The dentist sent me immediately to an oral surgeon. He made the decision to treat the bump (which is extremely painful) with antivirals to see if that worked. It didn't.

Last Tuesday it was biopsied by an ENT in his office. Yesterday, I got the results. "Suspicious for cancer." What does that even mean?!?! I'll have a surgical biopsy on Friday to get more information.

It feels stupid to feel so scared already, because I don't even know for sure if that is what's going on. I just feel so overwhelmed. I've been on pain meds for over three weeks and I know that I am still looking at some pretty serious pain after this biopsy. I am worried that I'll end up with a dependency on vicodin, and I have no idea what to ask the nurse today at my pre-op appt. If anyone else has been through this process and could offer up some advice, I'd really appreciate it.

The doc let me know he wasn't going to remove all of it, as doing so would mean swelling that would "make it difficult to swallow and talk." Have I mentioned yet that I'm a co-host on a morning show at a local radio station? Again, any insight into recovery time even for just the biopsy would be great. I know I can ask these questions today at the pre-op, but I have been leaving every doctor's office feeling completely frustrated by my lack of information.