Hi Derek and welcome to OCF.

Your post raised a few things,and perhaps we betterlook at them individually.

Firstly,i have never heard of any one being told they have the "Early stages of oral cancer",and then being left without follow up checks at very regular intervals.If you read the related posts on these boards,you will find a lot of people diagnosed with leukoplakia that may be going to cause a problem at a later date,have to go back to the Doctors for check ups at least every few months.It is not usual for anyone with a potentially dangerous disease to be discharged without follow up,if there is any doubt.

Secondly your throat problem.You say you waited 8 weeks to go to doctor and then it took a few weeks for the antibiotics to help.Well again this is very unusual.Antibiotics are prescribed for a course of usually 5-7 days ,and in that time they work or they dont.The time scale you refer too doesn't add up,and i wonder if because of your anxiety,your Doctor tried them to give you peace of mind.

Thirdly you say you are off work.Why?sitting at home worrying is very counterproductive and will only make your anxiety worse as you focus more and more on your perceived problems.You need to keep busy and your mind occupied and ultimately if you have a problem you will need time off then not now.

The internet is a very powerful tool and sites like this do so much good.But i can remeber when i was a student nurse,in the first year of my training i had every disease known to man.The more knowledge i aquired the worse it got ,and in some respects this has stayed with me throughout my life.My kids never had an ordinary headache ,they had potential brain tumours or meningitis,chest infections were pneumonia before you knew it,and as a new Mother i was a wreck worrying about cot death.
Just recently i had a lump in my neck. Having recently lost my husband at the age of 44 to oral cancer i was absolutely terrified and i spent hours trawling the internet.Before long i didnt know if i had Oral Cancer,lung cancer,ovarian cancer or stomach cancer all of which can cause an enlarged lymph node just where mine was.As it turned out i had an inflamed ligament!!!

Moral of the story Derek the mind is a also a very powerful tool,and It strikes me that for too many years yours has been focussed on the possibility of a serious illness,when really sweetheart you could just as easily walk in front of a car any day of the week and really have something to worry about.
The future will be what it will be no matter how much you read about and worry about it,and you cant or shouldnt waste yours getting wound up about your health.

Try to get some help Derek.Counselling is a great thing ,and it sounds to me you have a lot to get off your chest.who knows you might find it helps.

If you dont fancy that ,i am a good listener and if you want to e-mail me any or every day,feel free,i might not have the answers but you might feel better getting it off your chest.

stay with us and let us walk you through the next few weks,it is a great place to be when you need friends.

love liz