Hello Deb, I think for your peace of mind you should talk to your primary doctor about a referral to an ENT (ear nose and throat) specialist. I don't think penicillin will help if it is thrush and I don't see any reason why you should have to wait for a drug that WILL help if it is thrush.

Please try not to panic except if it motivates you to quit smoking. There are many things that aren't cancer, and only a biopsy will prove if it is or is not. I can't say that three weeks would make a difference but I can tell you that these cancers generally start slowly and grow over a period of months and even years. If you know that the white patch has been there longer than 2 weeks then have it looked at. This would be true for any kind of sore or lesion that dosn't heal.

There are NO health benifits from smoking.

Take care and please let us know what happens.

Mark, 21 Year survivor, SCC right tonsil, 3 nodes positive, one with extra-capsular spread. I never asked what stage (would have scared me anyway) Right side tonsillectomy, radical neck dissection right side, maximum radiation to both sides, no chemo, no PEG, age 40 when diagnosed.