Hi Everyone,

Apologies if this is in the wrong place on the forum.

Well first let me introduce myself...

I am a 25 year old woman, a non-smoker, and (for the most part) a non-drinker. I've probably consumed alcohol a handful of times over the past couple of years. I am not sure about my HPV status but think I could well be infected given my symptoms...

I was basically just hoping for some advice and I know perhaps it seems like the odds are that I don't have oral cancer and that I'm just a hypochondriac given my age, etc, but my concerns are very real and I would be so very grateful if you could help me out a little bit.

I've been having some rather worrying symptoms for a while and I can't seem to get health professionals to take me seriously. I sort of feel like I might be being overlooked because of my apparent lack of risk factors and am becoming increasingly frustrated. My symptoms are as follows:

-Swollen lymph nodes- all of them seem to be coming up on the bottom part of my neck on the right side. They are all varying sizes but probably coming up to the 1cm mark if not over. Most of them can be rolled around the skin and are very firm and hard.

-Mouth lesions- I have two warty type growths on the line which connects the hard and soft palate, on either side of my mouth. I also have numerous warty-looking skin tags underneath my tongue. All of these things have been there since around June of this year. I can't really tell if any of them are growing.

More recently, a white blister has popped up on the buccal mucosa on the right side, which is quite sore and rough-feeling. I also have glossitis on my tongue and it always looks pale and fissured.

-Headaches, earaches, neckaches, etc.

-A popping noise when I open my mouth wide which sort of sounds like it's coming from the back of the throat. I'd describe it as a sort of 'dripping' sound or like air being pushed past something (which of course makes me very concerned that there could be some kind of growth back there).

Again, I'm aware that I probably sound like a big hypochondriac and I can assure you that I wouldn't be massively concerned if it wasn't for the length of time I'd had these symptoms or for the swollen lymph nodes which seem to 'seal the deal' as it were.

Does mouth cancer tend to present in this way (i.e. multiple lesions)? Should I be pushing my dentist for a biopsy? I live in the UK and so can't refer myself to ENT or anything like that and I can't afford private healthcare.

I've been lurking around this forum a lot recently and some of the experiences I've read about have almost moved me to tears. They make me realise how weak-willed and pathetic I am. I want to be strong, but it's so difficult when I'm so worried

I would really appreciate any advice anyone could give me on how I should proceed with this.