Jon, I would suggest you seek out an ENT who specializes in treating oral cancer patients. Not because thats what I think is going on, but because an experienced ENT will be more familiar with your symptoms and know what your symptoms mean.

Ive seen so many people come thru here with similar complaints who were "sure" they had oral cancer only to find it is something much less serious. Im hoping your situation turns out to be non-cancerous! Swollen lymph nodes can be caused by so many different things besides cancer. Sometimes when people are very concerned about something they will see things a little differently than what they really are. Stress has a nasty way of making someone view their symptoms as more than they really are.

My suggestion would be to take this as your wake up call and eliminate all forms of tobacco from your lifestyle. There are many known cancer causing additives in tobacco. Chewing tobacco is in many ways worse than cigarettes as the fiberglass cuts your gums allowing the chemicals direct access into your bloodstream. But cigarettes come with their own set of health issues. Use tobacco long enough and you can be fairly certain to develop some type of serious health condition. I am missing half of my lower jaw as a result of my smoking habit. Yes I quit (cold turkey too) but it was much too late, the damage was already done. Hope this scare will enlighten you to get rid of the smokes/dip now and never go back to using it.

Best wishes!