Welcome to OCF! If you click on any of the blue HPV's you see throughout your post (or even in my reply), you will be taken to our HPV section on the main OCF site. There you will find tons of detailed info about HPV. OCF has been part of this research right from the start and helps to fund a brilliant researcher, Maura Gillison.

At this time there is still much more that is not known about HPV than is known. I recommend you take some time to read thru the HPV info and learn more about it. Please understand our main OCF site is constantly under construction to ensure only the latest and scientifically proven info is there. Some basic HPV info... HPV is a very common STD. Almost all who have it will not see any symptoms and have their body clear it without it ever progressing to cause any ill effects. Even those who have it lay dormant for years can have the HPV eliminated without incidence or ever knowing it was there. There are about two hundred strains of HPV, but only a very few strains are the ones that cause base of tongue, throat or tonsil cancer, genital warts, penile cancer, anal cancer, or cervical cancer. The strain we usually hear about is #16, very rarely do strains #10 or #18 are whats behind any oral cancer (OC) diagnosis. Even if a patient was diagnosed with HPV+ #16, that does NOT mean they will ever get cancer. That only means they have the correct strain of HPV that could progress into cancer. That figure is surprisingly low! Only about 1% of individuals that develop a high risk type oral HPV infection ever cascade into cancer, and that most often occurs decades after infection... per the main OCF site, HPV/Oral Cancer Facts page It seems like you have several symptoms that are bothering you. Patients who have cancer from HPV usually will not have any symptoms at all which is why HPV+ OC is usually not found until its later stages. The odds are very high that you do NOT have this.

As far as demanding your doctors do medical tests and biopsies, I dont think that will convince a physician to preform a test if it is unnecessary. Tests are expensive, they take a while to schedule, they need to be read and processed by the pathologist and then you go back for the results. Its likely a good 3 or 4 weeks from start of being scheduled until you get the final results. If there isnt a suspicion of a serious illness I dont think a doctor could justify further testing. It sounds like you have been thoroughly examined by experienced doctors who arent finding anything that would suggest you have cancer or another serious illness. Of course its not possible to diagnose anyone over the internet, especially when talking about our site thats made up of patients/survivors and caregivers. We do not have years of medical school, clinical patient experience, a complete patient history or the patient in front of us to examine and ask questions of. Without a medical background we are not qualified to second guess medical professionals. We can only speak from our own unique experiences and what we have learned from other patients over the years.

We have a saying around here that works best when finding mouth or neck issues... If you have a spot or sore in your mouth for over 2-3 weeks and it has not healed on its own then it needs to be checked by a professional. By professional, I mean an ENT who specializes in treating oral cancer patients, not the type of ENT who primarily puts tubes in kids ears. As long as the patient is doing everything they can to help their mouth spot/sore/etc heal such as omitting using tobacco, alcohol, mouthwash that contains alcohol, etc and their spot/sore has not gotten better after 2-3 weeks then it requires further testing. Thats when patients get "scoped" (you've already had this done), biopsies, sometimes a CT or in some unique cases a PET scan. Swollen lymph nodes alone do not mean its cancer, they're a sign of an infection or other illness. They could be any number of things that are easily corrected besides cancer.

Patients can help their mouth to heal by rinsing their mouth with a mixture of 1 cup warm water, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Swish it around in your mouth for 30 seconds - a minute and spit it out, repeating 4x a day helps to balance the mouths ph levels and helps sores to heal.

You know your body best and know when something isnt right. What you are experiencing could be something minor, hopefully thats all it is. To me, it sounds like your doctors are doing what they think is best for you. They have not dismissed your fears but are giving your body time to heal itself. If you strongly feel this is not the right course of action then find a qualified ENT to proceed further. If you can sit tight and wait and not allow your mind to play tricks on you then you should go back in a few weeks only if nothing changes. Dr Google is NOT your friend, it will only further fuel your fears. Avoid it like the plague! That kind of unneeded stress can cause some people to panic and fixate on the worst case scenario, then they will start noticing all kinds of things to substantiate that way of thinking. This is unproductive and unhealthy! I suggest taking a deep breath and start keeping super busy with positive things to help pass the time avoiding as much stress as possible. Hopefully in a couple weeks all your symptoms will resolve themselves, you will be ok and not need our help. If you would have OC, you're in the right place to get info and support.

Please let us know how you make out. Best wishes!!!