Hello All,

This is my first post in the forum.I would like to thank all the people responsible for maintaining this forum .

Please help me to get my symptoms diagnosed properly.

To begin with i was a cigarette smoker for almost 10 years with occasional alcohol use.I know that this is the biggest mistake that ive done in my life and have stopped them completely from past 2.5 years

symptoms:
> Feel burning sensation/drilling like sensation inside cheek (buccal mucosa) area for almost 3 years now.It has increased in frequency over past few days.Iam experiencing the same symptoms on the sides of the tongue also.
>Ive felt tooth pain or loose teeth for no particular reason and ear pain also.
>Difficulty while swallowing

Above symptoms are not persistent and usually lasts for a periods of 15-20 min

Iam also having sarcoidosis which is lung biopsy proven around the same time ie 3 years .

Ive observed that while iam on cortico steroids(immuno suppressants) the above mentioned symptoms gets flared up bcoz these steroids make my immune system supressed to avoid damage to other organs as a result of sarcoidosis.

With these symptoms iam sure that its related to cancer but iam not able to confirm medically as most of the head and neck oncologist/ENT/DENTISTS have ruled out any kind of cancer as they dont see any white/red patches/sore/lump.

I strongly feel that the above symptoms(pre cancerous/canceros cells) have caused sarcoidosis and I strongly feel that at present iam managing only the after effects (sarcoidosis ) and not the source of the problem ( cancer)


I would like to know from the expert people over here on the tests required to diagnose and confirm oral related cancer.

Please let me know if any one had felt the above symptoms and got them diagnosed.

Thanks in Advance

Thanks
Aman

Welcome Aman, my suggestion would be to see an ENT, Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor, who specializes in cancer, which would be one of the first steps in diagnosing whatever condition it is in the head and neck, such as the difficulty swallowing. Actually visiting your primary doctor usually is. Your symptoms could be from anything, non cancerous mostly, but any symtom lasting longer than 3 weeks should be looked at. Could be very well be from the corticosteroids. Good luck.

You need to be under the care of a qualified dental "expert" in your country. Let's see what they say.

I second what paul and David have said. I know you have seen ENTs - so in this case with them all saying you do not have cancer, what you need to do is be diligent. No one can diagnose cancer if it is not yet present. If you have a specific area of concern, then they can biopsy it, but usually they have to be able to see it or at the very least FEEL it - as in a lump, or lesion, or even have a reactive node. So ideally you go for regular dental check ups with a dentist, keep a close eye on your mouth so you know what is normal, and finally see an ENT - someone who knows Oral cancer - regularly. Maybe every three to 6 months? Or if anything in your mouth changes. best of luck.

Hello Paul,David,Cheryl

Thanks for your valuable suggestion.

Will surely be diligent and get the regular dental checkups.

I just hope that the oral cancer detection methods gets updated and help in early diagnosis of the disease.

[quote=davidcpa]You need to be under the care of a qualified dental "expert" in your country. Let's see what they say.[/quote] Hi David,
I've been searching for the definition of this "expert". What specific qualities, experience, education, certifications should a dentist posses to be considered an oral cancer dental "expert"? don

Aman's from India so that's why I phrased my comments to include the word expert since I have no knowledge how India classifies their dental practitioners.

David,
I have been trying to find a dentist that has specialization and knowledge about those of us who have weakened teeth and bones from chemoradiation. Not having much luck in that area. thanks don

you're looking for a dental oncologist. Talk to your hospital most have a dental department, if they don't then look up dental oncologists online. best of luck...

Aman, please don't give up on getting opinions. My Dad was not diagnosed until 6 months of diligently going to different doctors. If you know something is wrong keep looking for specialists! Good luck