The biopsy will give a definitive diagnosis. I guess most ENT’s who have experience with oral cancer will be able to make an educated guess from looking at the CT. My husband had the CT as well as the biopsy. You may want to find out if the tumor is at the base of tongue (oropharyngeal) or is it in the oral tongue. If it is in the oropharynx, if it is HPV positive which has a better prognosis.

My husband was prescribed gabapentin after his radiation treatment for nerve pain. It didn’t help him much, though. He had hydromorphone when he was hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia and being “morphine naive” he ended up with hallucinations. All this is not to say it will happen to you. Different people react differently to medication. I do know that one can’t stop taking gabapentin abruptly. There needs to be a step-down process. Your doctor should have given you that. If not, ask him about it.

It’s good to know that you will be seeing two oncologists, I would guess the radiation oncologist and the medical oncologist. That’s really quick. We had to wait for two months between seeing the family ENT who had no clue and the head of ENT at Mount Sinai Hospital. It then took maybe a couple of weeks for John to get his biopsy and follow-up doctors’ appointments. After he had a proper diagnosis, it took us another six weeks to start treatment. The worst that can happen in your case now is that it is not cancer and you have wasted time going to the appointment. I’m sure you would not mind wasting that time.

If indeed you have oral cancer and will be in treatment, I would strongly suggest that you make a point of eating all your favorite foods now. Once treatment begins, it will be some time before you will be able to do that, what with mouth sores and taste changes. Don’t worry about weight gain, most people lose weight during treatment.

I am an advocate for patients advocating for themselves. When you go for your appointments, write down all your questions and make sure you ask them. If the doctors say something you don’t understand, ask them to explain. Don’t just let it go. When John saw his radiation oncologist for the first time, the doctor did a scope and said, “I can’t see the margins.” I had no idea why he was saying it. It took me two years and much reading on this forum to learn that clear margins are important. I should have asked, but I didn’t. My experience tells me that the more I know and ask, the more the doctors are willing to explain. I don’t blame them. For one, they had no idea what people know and not know, and then they see so many patients and they are repeating information all the time. If you do go into treatment, get the after hours phone number that you can call for information or help. I found that useful at the beginning when I didn’t know what to expect or on the weekend if I couldn’t get my husband to a doctor. There are nurses who man the phone and they will call you back if you leave your number.

Please ask whatever questions you may have, there’s a wealth of information among the members on this forum.