Hello! I went to the dentist 2 weeks ago for a cleaning and during the pre-cancer screening they found a small circular white bump on the side of my tongue. It really looks like a white pimple. I was told to wait 2 weeks and if it was still there to come back in. Its been 2 weeks, its still there, and after looking at it the dentist set an appointment to see an oral surgeon for this upcoming Monday.

My heart has been a little more than heavy today and my mind is racing with worst case scenarios. I've read all the checklists of symptoms and in addition to the small bump I've had the feeling of something stuck in the back of my throat. Any thoughts?

The appointment with the oral surgeon is on Monday and until then I'm going to have to figure out how to not think about it and get on with life.

Hi Kevin! The best thing you can do is stay very busy to keep from worrying. It wont change what that sore is, all it will do is make you upset which isnt helpful. Try reading a book which is complicated or has an intriguing story to hold your attention.

The sore could be several things besides OC. Thats why you need a specialist. A biopsy is where they will take a teeny tiny sample and send it to the lab for testing. That will take another week before the results are in. Seems like alot of waiting, huh? Thats why I suggest staying very busy.

I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. If it would be serious, dont worry, we will help you thru whatever treatment you need to be well again.

Good luck!!!



PS.... I see you are in TX. Saturday is the OCF San Antonio Oral Cancer Awareness Walk. If you are in that area try to stop by. Its a great cause and they will have free oral cancer screenings. It cant hurt.
San Antonio Walk/Run

Kevin,

Your Dentist moved fast he knew what he was doing.

I had the same feeling something stuck in my throat I thought for sure throat cancer. My Surgeon at Moffitt told me it was Acid Reflux, I started taking prilosec it took care of the problem. You might want to ask your Dr.

I hope all goes well for you Monday. Good Luck...

Connie

Well, it isn't cancer till the pathologist says it is. The number of benign things that occur like this in all of our mouths every day is staggering. It appears that you are doing everything correctly. Someone discovered "something" and you are doing exactly what should be done to get a gold standard black and white answer as to what it is. Now that you are on that very appropriate path, occupy your mind with other challenges, life is full of them. (An idle mind will certainly lean towards the exact thing you are trying not tho think about.)

Don't continue on the Internet looking for what if's� that won't be fruitful and it will only feed the paranoia that we all succumb to once in awhile.

Lastly, occasionally we come across an oral surgeon who thinks that by looking at something he/she can tell if it is or is not something dangerous, and decides not to take the tiny little biopsy. No one, until something is wildly so advanced that my gardner can tell you that it is cancer, can tell with any certainty that it is or is something dangerous visually in these very early stages. Insist that he do the simple little snip of it and send it to the pathologist that was asked of him by the first doctor. Accept nothing less. What people who do this should realize, is that when they make that kind of uninformed judgment call instead of following through, they will be on the receiving end of where the buck stops when legal action is taken for missing something. The safe thing (and totally correct thing) was done by the first dentist. He started you on a path to a gold standard answer, which most of the time will be nothing to be concerned about. Now the surgeon shouldn't weigh in with an "opinion", he should just snip a tiny piece and send it on. This is the appropriate chain of referral and patient custody in dentistry.

Thanks for your responses. They really helped. Last night was not a good night. I scoured the internet and now have convinced myself the only thing it could be is cancer. That's really what I do with most things. Assume the worst and then I'm usually pleasantly surprised. Probably not the best approach with this though. I'm working on keeping myself busy for the next 2 weeks or so.

I'm up in the DFW area. Thanks for letting me know about the walk run in San Antonio. I may look in to making it down there.

And I will definitely be making sure the oral surgeon does the biopsy. Thanks for pushing me to make sure that's a priority for the surgeon.

Well if the white thing is on your oral tongue and visible chances are whatever is stuck in your throat (or that feeling) is likely not related. Base of tongue cancer would cause that feeling, but an oral tongue cancer, not so much, unless it's advanced and has spread, and usually that involves lymphnodes at that point. Not to say that whatever is on your tongue isn't cancer (though chances are it's not) but that stuck feeling may be related to stress, or as connie said acid reflux, or something else.

Base of tongue cancer is generally only visible with a scope, as it's down the back of your throat and not always but often has a different cause than oral tongue cancer.

I know I probably muddied the water here, but I guess I'm just trying to say not to freak out - as several others have said, what is on your tongue could be caused by several things.

take care and fingers crossed you're clear.

Kevi, do yourself a HUGE favor and avoid doing the internet searches. One thing will lead you to another and then another. In the end you will have tons of info and your mind will begin associating all those symptoms you have read about with your condition and help convince you that you have the worst case scenario. The Oral Cancer Foundation is the very best place for correct up to date medical information. There are thousands of people worldwide who come to this site every single week. We adhere to the health on the Net Code which ensures correct info is being given. Most of the other medical sites out there are not as diligent in patrolling their sites for any wrong info and making updates to correct mistakes. Errors in medical information can go uncorrected for days, weeks and months sometimes never getting fixed to reflect what is correct. OCF also makes certain that only scientifically proven medical treatments are what is recommended. So in the end, please take a break from your searches and if you must seek info, read the main OCF pages and educate yourself with correct info.

If you would turn out to have oral cancer, you are in the right place for help. It is not a death sentence. While treating oral cancer is not always the easiest thing to do, it can be done. Many patients will return to their old life and looking back down the road it appears that the whole thing was just a bad dream.

Its still way too early to jump to conclusions as to what is wrong, only a biopsy will be able to tell you this. Try to stick to the facts and think of this clinically, it might help make it easier. To simplify things so far this is what you know... something is wrong, you have your appointment to get checked, a biopsy will determine what it is, results will be a week later. Worst case scenario is you wont get a biopsy during the first appointment and have to wait until a second one, then wait again for the results. If you cant keep your mind off this then try to give it a set amount of time then 'change the channel" and think of something more positive. Hang in there and stay busy doing positive things, its the best thing to pass the time.


PS.... There will be another walk in the Houston area to honor one of our members who passed away much to young. Nate was much loved here. His family along with some OCF members/volunteers are hosting the event.

That is great advice. I started on most of those websites and they weren't giving me the definitive answers I REALLY wanted so I kept looking and ended up on a lot of other sites

I'm doing better now. Staying busy and attempting to be content with what I know right now.

Went to my doctor today to have them look at my throat. My throat is red and inflamed. I was never so disappointed to NOT have strep throat. Taking Aleve and hoping its just allergies and drainage which could be because my ears are clogged as well.

I hope you all know what a blessing you are. I really appreciate the kindness, willingness to take my concerns seriously, and offering practical advice on dealing with the waiting. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

You are very welcome. Thats just what we do around here.

Wishing you all the very best with Monday's appointment. Remember they work for you, make sure that your concerns are not dismissed without checking you out thoroughly.

Ok...now I'm freaking out. I'm staying off the Internet but when I looked at the spot this morning it now is bumping out more and has some red spots around it. I have been applying some water and hydrogen peroxide to it so hoping I just caused some inflammation. Not liking seeing it grow though. I need Monday to come fast.

Hi Kevin - Hope everything goes well today with the biopsy! Come back here and let us know how it goes.

Anne-Marie,
For sure! Thank you!

Ok...I had the appointment with the Oral Surgeon today. He wasn't too concerned about what he saw. His thought was that it was a calcified deposit. I know there is an official name but it slips my mind right now. Of course the only for sure way to know is with a biopsy so he numbed up my tongue, cut it out, and sent off to a pathologist. I have a follow up appointment set for next Tuesday.

A few thoughts...

-I know the biopsy could come back saying something else, but for now I'm going to hang my hat on the hope that the oral surgeon gave me today with his initial diagnosis. If anything its going to help me get through this week. I've been more than a little useless this past wee with worry. In fact I went to visit my GP on Friday and my blood pressure was well within normal range. When the Oral Surgeon took my blood pressure today it had skyrocketed!

-I really appreciate everyone's prompting to be an advocate for myself. It really is true that you need to take responsibility for getting answers. All the doctors have been great! Doing the homework on my end like writing down all of my questions ahead of time, listing out my symptoms, and getting blood work done in preparation for today made all the difference.

-I wanted to do something positive so I went and got a Starbucks gift card for the dentist's office. I took it in along with a little note for the receptionists who helped get me the appointment, the hygienist who found the bump, and the dentist who was pro-active about monitoring it. Based on some of the stories I've been reading I'm blessed to have a dental practice that does their job well and are overly cautious. I definitely wanted to affirm that in them all today.

Anyways, I'll post another updated next week. I think I may be able to get some sleep tonight.

Kevin, Im very glad that you have had a biopsy. Thats the way to know for sure. I see you have learned quite alot about how to manage your health. Patients must speak up for themselves. What a nice thing for you to do for your dental professionals! You are correct that not every office is right on top of things like this. You are one lucky person! Hoping your biopsy comes back with good news.

Good luck!!!

Good for you, Kevin! Hoping for more good news next week!

Me too - fingers crossed you get an all clear.

I bugged the oral surgeon's office today and got the doctor to call me today to go over the biopsy. Its benign and non-cancerous. He told me what it was but all I heard was the not cancer part. I have a follow up with him on Tuesday and then an ENT appointment on Thursday to figure out some of the issues I'm having.

Really appreciate the well wishes and patience with my freaking out!

That's awesome!!!! ;o) let us know what it is he calls it... it could be lichen planus, or just general displasia...

I feel for you,I'm scared also and have been through this before.