Hi! i`m 31, Male from Finland. I`m sorry if posting my concerns here are not right thing to do, but I`m going nuts with my oral cancer worries.

Ok, I have anxiety issues, health anxiety, panic, generalised anxiety. One of the hot issues has always been Oral C(for last 10 years at least, kept finding all kinds of scary stuff, mouth is scary, no cancer this far), even before this actual issue I`ve been dealing for last 14 months or so.....

Ok, where to start(sorry my english btw). 14 months ago I ate, something hurt in roof of my mouth, noticed there this "blister" or whatever. thought I burned the area, or something hit there, no big deal(I check my mouth all the time, it was not there week before this, I`m almost sure). It looked red, like a fresh thing there. few days and it`s been almost the same since then....

Feels like rough spot/area there. I would say it`s about 0,5 cm diameter. sometimes it has one or two white tiny spots there in a middle, think there`s some stuff there that pops out every now and then. About 3 months ago the thing was almost gone! It was not visible anymore, but could feel with tongue a tiny tiny area anymore. What a relief! I really thought it was going to get better, but no. It changes its size. sometimes smaller, sometimes bigger.

Have seen 2 dentists now (because I really have to fix my teeth, BAD dentist fear also). First one said definitely not cancer, second one (who will be fixing my teeth)....said the bad words.....maybe at some point biopsy if it wont get better. Since then I`ve been a mess. Cant sleep or anything. Though he also said it does not look any bad, cancer would not shrink (?), be better one day etc. biopsy? when? Why not immediately? Just let it spread?

If not cancer, what? It`S been there forever now. It does not hurt or anything anymore, it just bothers my anxiety issues. But can`t stop thinking about cancer. Oh, and yes, I smoke and drink beer too. so it`s almost obvious to me.

sorry about this rant!!! I`m just going crazy about this issue. and if anyone knows better than me, please help me out.

Welcome to OCF! Im so sorry you are so nervous. Please do yourself a big favor and relax! Worrying will never help you to feel better or to change the facts.

This should help you to feel better. Oral cancer tumors do not come and go and get bigger and then subside. They are fixed and will be present, eventually growing.

Any sore which is in your mouth for 2 or 3 weeks needs to be checked by a professional. Here in the US we go to an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist or an oral surgeon. The doc will do a biopsy where they remove a teeny tiny piece of the 'sore' and send it out for analyses at a lab, the results will be back in about a week. The biopsy is the only way to determine for certain if the tissue is cancerous or not. From your description it does not sound like what you have is cancerous. Go get checked and then you can relax knowing you are ok.

Good luck!

"This should help you to feel better. Oral cancer tumors do not come and go and get bigger and then subside. They are fixed and will be present, eventually growing."

thanx! this thing never went away completely, but all of the sudden it was like 1/5 of the size it usually is(I promised to myself then to stop worrying about it, because cancer would not act like that). that was just for a few days, and then back full on. but yes, it has changed it`s size and how it feels with tongue. (though been the same for few weeks now). Don`t think it has never looked much inflamed, only in the beginning when I noticed it. My wife has had to check it every day for 14 months now, she`s getting frustrated with me. no wonder...

I know I`m obsessed about this issue.

Miksuman, if you are obsessing about this, get the biopsy done, then you will know for sure. I agree with Christine, it doesn't sound like it (mine grew steadily, and never got smaller), but if you need it to calm your fears, get it done. No point in stressing yourself and your wife about something that may be nothing. Bear in mind that blisters etc., in your mouth take a long time to heal because it is a moist environment.

Good luck.

thank you!

I`m honestly sorry, as I understand it might be frustrating to answer for someone with no actual cancer diagnosis, just worrying etc. But you people are my heroes! You`re dealing with something I`ve spend a lots of time worrying about, years and years. And you seem to be alive and well thank you.

"if you are obsessing about this, get the biopsy done, then you will know for sure."

2 weeks till my next dentist visit. Not sure what he will say, if he even wants a biopsy. I dont know, actually it feels like nobody is taking me seriously! I`m having a big fear of having oral cancer, and everybody is telling me it`s not. maybe I should just believe it? Understand biopsy is the only 100% sure thing.

HAVE to ask, could it still be cancer after 14 months, not getting bigger (also it gets smaller sometimes), no other symptoms really. and it just popped there one day? also noticed it`s bigger the next day I`ve been drinking, dry mouth, bad taste in mouth, overall bad feeling in mouth.....what I`ve understood oral C is pretty agressive thing, this thing seems to do nothing really.....

You should see an ENT skip the dents and make the appointment now it will help ease your mind... Best of luck

Milk,

Go up to the search bar in upper right and type in "How potatochips saved my life" it goes through the steps I went through when I discovered a red spot

Sorry, can`t stop....

But here some facts about the damn thing in my mouth (I just need to write this down)

- it came there very fast, 14 months ago. It was looking like fresh thing, had redness around it for a few days, and it was little hurting. redness and pain disappeared withing couple of days.

- Then it looked like there are one or two tiny whitish spots there in a middle, when this happened I could feel it with tongue being more "raised". When spots gone, more flat "rough area" there (This is how it`s been for a while now). I think there are some stuff that comes out from those white spots....and then it goes flat because no liquid or whatever there anymore. hah, great explanation.

- It was 90% gone couple of months ago. It was not visible anymore, and could feel only a tiny tiny rough area there. This would last only a few days I guess. not sure because I stopped worrying about it. But it eventually came back there and been there since then and my worrying.

-I`ve had oral/throat/sinus problems for years. I think I have some yeast problem(beer!) + dry mouth. all kinds of weird sensations, bad tastes etc.

- 3 dentists(said earlier 2, but 3 actually) said it does not look cancerous, not "angry" or anything. The one who said about biopsy thought it is the only way to make me believe it, I guess.

Everybody are telling me I would not be here wondering about if it is cancer or not, after 14 months? Would it have grown bigger already? I have a long history with health anxiety, oral c fear being the biggest one. I remember running to dentists every second week some years ago, to show every damn pimple in my mouth, so this one has been a looooong torture for me worst fears coming true.

As I stated earlier, go get the biopsy so you know what is going on.

If you have problems with anxiety especially always being concerned you have oral cancer then you may want to seek out some other help as well. A therapist may be able to ease these fears for you.

It could be any number of things happening including acid reflux, the yeast infection could be thrush. You could have a couple things going on but until you get checked you wont know. I know its scary and hard not to worry but the stress is not helping you to think clearly. If you must 'go there', limit the time to consider this subject then 'change the channel' and think of positive things. Stay busy with tasks which take concentration like reading a detailed book or doing s project. Do positive things so you are not sitting around worrying 'what if'. At this point worrying will not do one good thing for you, it only makes you feel bad.

Hang in there, it also takes about a week for the biopsy results. Get in there and find out whats wrong then make a plan to fix it.

Good luck!!!

Here's another voice for seeing an ENT as soon as possible.

Your anxiety stems from your knowledge that something is wrong, and nothing is being done to deal with the problem. You will continue to have this anxiety, and it will continue to get worse until you take steps to learn what is wrong.

Asking a bunch of strangers what is wrong is not dealing with the problem, and your subconscious is punishing you for it. Therefore, to reduce the anxiety, see an ENT physician and get your condition diagnosed.

It sounds like your fear of the biopsy is the first obstacle to overcome. Trust me, the biopsy is such a trivial thing that when you have obtained it, you are going to feel both relieved (that you have finally addressed the real problem) and very foolish (that you let such a minor thing cause you such grief!)

Good luck to you, and quit delaying!