Hi Penny, welcome to OCF! I hope you do not really need our help, that whats going on turns out to be nothing. First of all let me tell you I understand about being stressed and unable to quit smoking right now. What if its the cigarettes that are causing your mouth issues? Take away the irritant and give your mouth a chance to heal. I know its easier said than done but I was a smoker, so I know how it is. When I found out I had cancer I took those darn cigs and threw them out the window as I drove down the turnpike towards my feeding tube consultation. As I realized that it was the cigs and my own stupidity that made me sick, it made me angry. I quit cold turkey that day and have never looked back. I was NOT about to give cancer any more help to kill me. If you could see what I look like after going thru oral cancer 3 times and losing my left jaw, you would quit smoking. Try checking out the TRUTH.com's Unsweetened truth campaign and you will see what cigarettes did to me. Im not trying to give you a hard time for smoking, I just dont want to see anyone else suffer like I did due to tobacco which is an option weather you use it or not.
Now, as far as the sores go, usually cancerous tumors are not painful. So that is in your favor. Try to find an ENT who specializes in treating oral cancer patients. Some ENT's mainly do tubes in kids ears. If they give you a thorough exam and see things that look like it could be a problem they will advise to have a biopsy done. This will tell you exactly what you are dealing with. The rule of thumb is if a sore has been in your mouth for over 2 weeks and hasnt gone away its time to get it checked out. With all the money you will save from not smoking, you will be able to pay the ENT's fee. If (and that is a huge IF), it would be something serious then you will want to get yourself into a cancer center. Even though you say you feel it may be too late, it shouldnt be. There are all kinds of things that can go wrong and pop up in a person's mouth at any given time. Some are pre-cancerous, some are no big deal and others are cancerous. Only a doctor doing a biopsy will be able to tell you for certain whats going on. Sounds to me like some irritation, rubbing from your teeth and maybe even an infection on top of it. But Im not a doctor. Here is a link with several pictures to check out. Some you would think are cancerous but when you click on them and then click on the button to see the diagnosis you will see things arent always what you think.
OCF Image Gallery Best wishes!!!!!
