Hi
I am waiting for a biopsy appointment. It has been scheduled for 8th February. I am struggling a bit with the wait as I have been alerted to a large nasty looking painless open ulcer inside my cheek which has developed on a large white patch. I have large white patches on the inside of both cheeks. I am 56 years old. My GP (who has worked as a registrar in the ENT dept of our local hospital for 3 years previous to beoming a GP) says it is lichen planus and must be biopsied. The first time I was a ware I had lichen planus was two years ago when my dentist called in her colleague to take a look. They both said it was nothing to worry about and lots of people have it. The next time I went (in November 2011) she said it had ulcers and she would refer me to the maxofacial dept to get it checked out. I have now seen that I have a number of smaller ulcers emerging which are also painless, and long white hard strings running from the biggest ulcer into my gum which has a hard lump on it. Also my tonsil on that side of my mouth has a few little white bumps on it.
I know I will find out in good time but I just wanted to tell someone how it feels to wait and not know what will come next. I am sure it is cancerous. I also get earache on that side. I am really tired all the time but sleep doesn't seem to help much, though I sleep a lot. I feel these things could be psychosomatic due to fear of cancer. Can anyone comment on all these symptoms for me. The truth does not frighten me. My husband is a leukaemia survivor and I believe in miracles! We have been through the hell that this forum describes with his treatments, and he is now on three weekly blood transfusions, six monthly visits to the specialist and living a happy, normal life.