Dan,

I know you are anxious about this and the only way to determine if if is cancer is through a biopsy.

Now I'm not a doctor or a medical professional, but I'm an nearly 8 year OC survivor and have been to many doctors including ones at Fox Chase, Hospital at the University of PA (HUP) and Johns Hopkins plus my local ENT/surgeon and none of these doctors ever suggested that I "brush the hell out of it"!! Most dentists are trained to detect signs of oral cancer, but they will refer you to an oral surgeon or ENT for a biopsy. You are probably seeing "marked improvement" because you are removing the suspect cells because of the rough brushing. Please stop this!

When is your appointment at HUP? When you go there and want the ENT to examine this red spot you've basically destroyed it, what is he/she going to look at? They will likely not recommend a biopsy because of what you've done.

Using a water pick is OK provided you are not blasting the red area with the water. I use a water pick based on a recommendation of one of my doctors and was advised to use the lowest water pressure when you first start using it.

I truly hope it is not cancer, but please be patient until you see the doctor at HUP.