hello everyone I am a 27 year pack a day smoker of 14 years.. my cousin passed away from oral cancer at 35 he was also a heavy smoker...I have had these suspicious bumps in my mouth for about 3 years now there are about 3-4 on the right side located on the top of the mandibular bone then on the left side there is a single lesion located under the mandibular bone I have been to 3 dentists and 2 doctors who briefly examined it and all concluded it to be mandibular tori. However I am not so convinced here are my symptoms these bumps get bigger and smaller through out the day (i do scrape my tongue across it a lot) i notice if i eat smoke or drink anything it gets hard and bigger then smaller and softer if there is no oral activity the last dentist who examined it did a complete x ray looked at it under the light touched it and used a blue ray light and said he was not concerned... my question is for all you that have been diagnosed already is this how it starts? also any advice on if i should follow up or just accept there diagnosis or mandibular tori? thanks

Hi Knine. While it is not possible to diagnos you over hte internet, I will try to help you. From my experience, my cancerous tumors did not flucuate through out the day depending on what I ate or drank. The tumor was always there.

Sounds like you had a dentist who did a full oral cancer exam on you. Yea for that thorough dentist!!!!!

Oral cancer is a fast moving cancer where it would not still be the same for several years like what you described. If after all the opinions you have gotten, you still feel uncomfortable see an oral surgeon or an ENT who specializes in oral cancer. They can do a biopsy and then you would know for certain if you had reason to be concerned.

Im sorry for the loss of your cousin at such a young age. Are you still smoking? This scare you are going thru should be a wake up call to quit.

Best of luck with everything.

Hello Christine! thank you sooo much for your reply! I appreciate your advice yea the 3-4 bumps on the right side are just hard all the time no change in size and the sit rite on top of my mandibular bone the other single lesion is on the left the side i smoke on {yes i still smoke) wish I could quit! but the single bump on the left is the one that concerns me because it is sometimes small and soft and when i smoke eat drink it gets bigger and hard and it doesnt sit rite on my mandibular bone like the other side its like rite in between the bone and the floor of my mouth i dont think you can even see it or feel it with your finger but it is always there im not sure if i put that in my first post or not but it is always there has been for 3 years sorry for being so detailed and for asking more questions.... im sure your busy dealing with your own life and i appreciate all your guys help i wish you all the best of luck in overcoming this stay strong stay positive and fight! thanks again!

hey everyone not to sound so frantic but i have recently been reading up on other symptoms and it says jaw pain and ear pain? my jaw sometimes feel a little sore but doesnt hurt and my ears feel pressure but no pain....is this similar or different? also does oc change in size or just stay the same size all the time?

Its ok to ask questions, so please dont feel the need to apologize. You are scared which is normal. Please try your best to stay calm about the situation. Its NOT cancer til the biopsy says it is.

Everybody is different and can have different symptoms. Tumor location also plays a part in feeling jaw or ear pain. My tumor was located inside my L cheek and I had another seperate tumor behind my top L molar. I had no ear pain or pressure at all.

A cancerous tumor will not grow and shrink like what you are describing. It sounds like smoking, eating and drinking irritate the area and it in turn reacts.

Anyone can quit smoking, its not easy but its something that can be accomplished. Its all mind over matter. I am a former smoker. I simply threw my cigs out the car window on my way to one of my oncologist appointments, never to smoke again. There are several products out there to assist you in quitting. Its all in your mind, IF you want to quit you will. Hope that you seriously consider quitting after this scare has opened your eyes.

hello thanks again for the reply i am so glad i found this site! so then the last exam my dentist did with the x rays and blue light was a oc screening then?

Here is a link to go into depth about what a complete oral cancer screening should entail. The blue light is called a Vizilite which is another tool dentists should always use for a thorough exam.

http://oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/screening.htm

Too often members forget about the main OCF pages where there is so much helpful info. There is a search function there as well which makes it easy to find the info you are looking for.

Actually the Vizilite is not a very good tool, OCF is not a backer of the device (it -Zila-actually went bankrupt a year ago, and the remnants of the company are trying to be reconstructed by a new company Tolmar) and works on more marketing rhetoric than science. The blue light that works well is made by VELscope and also the Sapphire unit by DenMat. There is a third vendor out there, but it is grossly underpowered and not very bright. These two are based on tissue auto-flouresence, a science that the NIH has thrown about 61 million dollars at in the last 10 years. These are all adjunctive devices and only add a small amount more to a screening than a conventional visual and tactile screening. As to Vizilight specifically, it is nothing more than Heinz 2% white vinegar (acidic acid) with a little raspberry flavoring, and a toy light from Omniglo, the same company that makes chemiluminesent lights for kids rave parties, camping use and our military. There is nothing special about their light. That a white light would not do.

By the by, all these things put out a blue light, but the VELscope light for instance it is very specific wave length that will excite the florophors in your cells and cause them to fluoresce in normal cells. In damaged cells - cancer, even pizza burns and cheek bits, the cells lose their ability to fluoresce and that is an indication the doc needs to look closer. These devices are all DISCOVERY DEVICES not DIAGNOSTIC DEVICES, and their 510k FDA approval states this very clearly.

Christine put up a good link for doctors, here is a more basic idea that a lay person could use to determine if they had a good screening or not. http://oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/how_do_you_know.html

Sorry, I couldnt remember the name of the other devices that dentists use. Thanks for giving more technical info Brian, I wish I knew 1/4 of what you have forgotten about OC.

I also forgot to add, only a biopsy is the sure way to tell if your tumor is cancerous. Thats why we have a saying around here...."Its NOT cancer til they say it is."

Try to go about your normal routines and not worry so much. Cancer is like a theif, it steals our precious time from us. It will take a while before the results come in after a biopsy so try to relax.

Here is an independent published review of the Vizilite system.

http://oralcancernews.org/wp/effica...in-the-identification-of-oral-lesions-2/

As to knowing a lot about all this, you try being obsessive/compulsive (my wife's terms) about something for more than a decade, 7 days a week, while having the privilege to speak at symposiums every month with the best and the brightest in the field, who you get to absorb from, and you'll know a lot too. You'll get used to thinking you are passionate, your mate thinking you are compulsive, and the shrink that has been following you since your survival, calling your behavior pathological.

hey guys thanks for the info i am starting to become obsessive/compulsive myself so from your guys experience does it spread rather quickly? or does it linger for years and then gets worse slowly? also does it get bigger and smaller throughout the day? sorry if i am offending or upseting anyone i just need closure either way

hello everyone just an update i made a apt with a oral surgeon on the 2nd of August and hopefully it will give me closure either way I have been extremly anxious i cannot stop rubbing my tongue across this bump/lesion through out the day i feel at times its soft/softer and times its hard does this sound typical of oc? thanks for help again

hello everyone sorry for these posts i woke up today and the right back side of my jaw feels swollen is there a lymph node located there?

Oral cancers do not come and go, and usually do not change much once a lesion begins to develop except to get bigger, not bigger and smaller as you described. Yes there is a lymph node behind the angle of your mandible, but please remember that the lymph nodes job is to drain out all the toxins and cellular debris that come from everyday infections and more that your immune system is dealing with as a matter of regular daily life. That one of them gets swollen and sore is no big deal. As a matter of fact, cancer related nodes are PAINLESS, hard, and feel fixated in place, and you can't easy push them around like you can with a normal node. Soft nodes are normal and are Good.

Brian thank you soooo much!!! for replying I have been losing it all i do all day is run my tongue across the bump to look for change in size and then the lymph node today i just about lost it! I know you all have your own problems and I greatly appreciate you taking your time out of your day to help me with mine!

Never be sorry for asking or feeling scared. I am and it drives me crazy, it really is normal.
Tone

Sorry you are having to deal with this. I will be keeping you in my prayers that your visit on 8/2 will give you some closure in finding the answers to all your questions and that you will not have oral cancer.

Nancy T

hello everyone i just got back from my apt with the oral surgeon I told him my concerns and expressed to them i am concerned it could be oral cancer they just looked at it under the light with the little mirror and said mandibuler tori and no need for a biopsy he did not even give me a chance or give it a thorough examination....i thought today was going to give me closure but now i dont know what to think 1.this doctor was being lazy and did not want to help me 2.he was a professional and knows what hes doing..do you guys think i should make another apt with a different oral surgeon?

I had a great oral surgeon who spent a lot of time with me. He was not able to figure out what I had (and was the second doctor who said I did not have cancer), but he did send me to an ENT who was able to diagnose me.

If you feel uncomfortable with your doctor and don't think he was professional enough for you, go ahead and make an appointment with a good ENT in your area. You are your own best advocate and doctors are not gods.

A second opinion should help you get some peace of mind. Looks like you still have some misgivings. Having said that, it appears that you got good news today. Let�s hope that continues with a second opinion.

Hi Knine... wonderful news!!! Since you've gotten several opinions and the latest from an oral surgeon who I'm sure is familiar with various issues of the mouth... I hope you can relax and be grateful. Did the oral surgeon say if there is anything they can do for tori if it continues to bother you?

I thought about you several times today and was just delighted to log in and see your results.

HUGS

Dodie

hello thank you for thinking about me! yea i guess its given me some relief going to the oral surgeon today this is the 4th doctor/dentist who looked at it im sure the right side of my jaw that has bumps is mandibular tori but its my right side im concerned about its basically a hidden bump its under my mandibular bone in between the bone and the lining of the floor of my mouth i was wondering what were other symptoms you guys had? i have read up on symptoms but would rather hear it from people who have been through it then on google thanks again everyone for your help and encouragement i probly wouldnt of even went to an oral surgeon if it wasnt for you guys

It just goes to show how valuable this site can be to some of us.

Hello everyone sorry for the late reply I havent logged on in a while i just wanted to thank all of you for your help and support...I still have that bump there for some reason when I run my tongue across it..it doesnt feel like the mandibular tori bumps I have on my right side this one is different on the left side it feels like its gotten bigger now and this last week I have lost my appetite any ideas or advice anyone? im getting hopeless...

knine,

I'm going to get very blunt with you as is my way...but know this is for you're own good and it's done out of love.


First...stop f@ck'n smoking. If you didn't know, it causes cancer.

Second, how many Dr's are going to have to tell you the same thing before you stop beating around the bush and get a biopsy from the site that concerns you? It's the only way to get the definitive answer you obviously need so stop stressing about it and take the bull by the horns already. Anybody on this site will tell you that I'm no fan of most Dr's...but they aren't all f*ck'n worthless and at least one of the four you've seen so far may not have their head up their ass.

I think I speak for many on this site when I say you have no idea what "hopeless" is so let me define it for you. Hopeless is sitting in front of your Ear Nose & Throat Dr who tells you that a biopsy confirms you have cancer, it's inoperable and there are no other options available to you to extend your life. Since you haven't had that experience, you still have hope.

Since you are in Seattle, I will even steer you in the right direction. Call the University Of Washington Medical Center (#6 in the US for Cancer Care and #12 in Head & Neck) and ask for the Otolaryngology dept. Schedule an appt and tell them to biopsy the area you are concerned about. Dr. Neil Futran is the head of that program and literally one of the finest surgeons in the country, if he can't calm your fears I'd suggest seeking a different type of Dr for your head...

Sorry to be so blunt, but panicking and becoming "hopeless" isn't going to help you or get you any answers.

Your welcome by the way.

Eric

Seconding Eric.
D2

You said it, Eric!

wow! Eric no love lost.. I needed that..your rite and I apologize about coming on here crying about my little worries when you guys have real problems..I have asked for a biopsy and the oral surgeon stated "theres no need for biopsy"...I should of refused to leave and stood my ground..so can I get a direct apt through there or do I need to get a refferal etc like I did for the oral surgeon...this bump in my mouth has been there for about 3 years now does that sound typical for oral cancer?

oh yea forgot to add im 6 days smoke free cold turkey

what i meant was doesnt the cancer usually advance quite a bit within 3 years without treatment?

knine - What Eric said, DO IT! And congratulations on being 6 days smoke free cold turkey! Do avail yourself of any other smoking cessation programs or helps because they are there. Re the referral, when you call for the appointment, they will tell you if you need a referral.

Knine...if you had oral cancer for 3 years now you'd likely be dead or very close to dying by now with obvious signs of the disease spreading and growing.

Stop asking ?'s and follow the advice I've given you. When you've done what I've told you and gotten a "confirmed" case of oral cancer, come back and ask all the questions you'd like. Until then I don't believe any of us will help you if you refuse to take the steps to help yourself.

Love ya pal but at this point I think you've worked yourself into a delusional, panicked state and are no longer listening to reason. Show me you can listen to reason and do what I've directed you to do.

Eric