Dear US Marine,

First of all, please take a deep breath and don't assume the worst at this stage. There's no point in getting ahead of yourself when the doctors have yet to perform any tests on this area. Regardless of how the results turn out, I hope this experience is enough to convince you to stop the dipping and smoking -- these can NEVER be good for your health.

Your doctors need to perform a biopsy before they can tell whether it's cancer or not -- many suspicious lumps turn out not to be cancerous. In fact, I had one in the location you describe just a couple of months ago and because of my cancer history, my oral surgeon biopsied it fairly quickly. Thankfully, the pathology report showed that it was benign.

If the biopsy results show that it is cancerous, I would strongly suggest that you try to get to a major cancer center, where you can get the input of an experienced head and neck team. It's best to attack this disease with the most extensive tools and knowledge available, if it ever comes to the point where you need them.

If you look around on this site you'll find many helpful resources and the stories of a good many people who are doing very well in the years after treatment. Please stay in touch and let us know what you find out from your biopsy.

Cathy