Definitely dittoing everything Christine said! You asked how long I had my sore ... I noticed it around Christmas, but holidays being what they are, I just thought it was a cold sore or something and didn't think much about it. It was February before I went to my family doctor about it. He tried a couple things to get it to heal and then sent me to an ENT. The ENT tried a couple things and then decided that removing the sore to give the area a fresh chance to heal was the best plan of action. My ENT is a decent surgeon and does have experience with cancer, which is why (even though we weren't talking cancer) he biopsied every bit that was removed while I was still out. That was in May of that year. It was quite startling, as I mentioned. But we didn't skip any steps ... I started with my (very reliable) family doctor, got a referral, and was lucky to get an ENT who knew more than I realized. I don't know if the biopsies are standard procedure, or he was just good at his job. If you do go to that surgeon, see that biopsies are part of the procedure. Then you won't have to worry, after ... you'll KNOW and then you'll (hopefully) be done with it.