Youngin'...Of course, oral cancer presents itself in many different ways, so you can't diagnose yourself based on someone else's symptoms. That said....I had SCC that began at the gumline on the cheek side of my upper jaw, at a rear molar. My dentist mis-diagnosed it, and it remained there long enough to spread to the inner side of the gum, where it was missed again, and it spread to the adjacent hard palate (where the dentist STILL did not recognize it, BTW!) I noticed it when I was eating something salty and spicy because it hurt a bit. I felt it with my tongue, and it was flat and ulcerated. I looked, and it was not ghastly-looking, but it was definitely not normal tissue. It was red, with some little spots, and raised but flat...not a lump or bump.

I have no idea what your lump could be. To have been there for two years is odd. It seems to me that in two years it would have done something..would have changed significantly.

Have you just now noticed it? Or have you watched it from time to time and it has remained the same over that time?

I didn't realize that my lesion was there, and when my surgeon saw it, he said that because of its size, it had to have been there at least a year.

So.....1. When do you see the specialist? 2. Any lump is cause for concern. 3. If it has been there for two years un-changed, then I would feel that maybe it is something benign. 4. I don't know if there are ANY benign lumps and bumps that occur on the palate, but I'll bet that there are some. 5. If it has been there for at least two years, then whatever time (short, I hope!!) you have to wait before seeing the specialist won't make too much difference.

So....get into neutral until you can get some accurate information. ...easier said than done!