Dear Izman,

You mentioned that you do not have dental insurance, but this all should be covered by medical insurance if you have it. If you do not have either type of insurance, some hospitals have free-care programs for qualifying low-income households. Like many have said, don't let finances determine how you go about things. There are ways to make it work. Just do first things first and have an excisional biopsy for an accurate diagnosis.

My excisional biopsy was done by an oral surgeon to whom my dentist referred me. It was done under local anesthesia and I was given pain meds thereafter. Thankfully, it was done this way because it was very painful when the anesthetic wore off. The area required sutures. He took a specimen about the size of a garbanzo bean (chick pea) and sent it off to an independent lab that deals with oral specimens. The lab billed my medical insurance separately from the oral surgeon since they were independent doctors/pathologists.

When the diagnosis came back positive for squamous cell carcinoma of the lateral tongue, the oral surgeon called around to his contacts in the Boston hospitals to find out the best doctor in treating my diagnosis. They had set up an appointment for me the very next day. I am forever grateful to him for doing that legwork for me. In fact, he did it all the day before he had me come into the office to give me the bad news of a cancer diagnosis. So, I had everything in place right away and didn't have to wait. This is where going to an ENT/head & neck cancer oncologist at a CCC (comprehensive cancer center) would be ideal. Everything under one roof and runs like a well-oiled machine.

ConnieFL on this forum has had treatment at Moffitt and has been very happy with it. I would suggest looking her up on this forum should you have any questions.

Best wishes for good health,
Kerri