Hi,
Found this site, and am relieved. Have been referred from my physician, to an infectious diesease specialist, and now to see a ENT/oncologist for a biopsy for leukoplakia. I am 25 years old female, only smoked for 3 years of my life and quit almost 2 years ago. I forced myself to see a physician for white spots that would not go away in my mouth, on my tounge and spreading and on my cheeks. I have also felt like I have a lump in my throat. They have ruled out thrush, fungal, std, hiv, bacterial etc.. I went to the doctor for it to be an embarrasing infection like some weird fungus, bacteria, or std. I was not expecting to go through 3 weeks of referrals, and hear of ruling out a pre-cancerous condition or cancer itself. So I guess I am a bit nervous about this next leg. I keep telling myself that it is more likely to be lichen planus which is a mimic to leukoplakia and caused by stress which I have tons of. I am researching this new subject as much as I possibly can. It is good to know that there is a place for people at every step of this process. If anyone has any advice or wisdom to share, it is most welcome. Thanks for listening/reading

Hi April,
Welcome to my world.
I had leukoplakia (white spots) and dysplasia (red spots) in my tongue since Dec 98. You said you hardly smoked, me too but what about alcohol this can cause it too. Also there is some evidence that Listerene ia a culprit too!
It is precancerous and it needs to be watched closely by an ENT doctor who specialises in this area. My luekoplakia developed into a squamous cell carcinoma which is like a sore that never goes away. Unfortunately for me it developed into something more serious and I had 40% of my tongue removed. I dont want to scare you but this is serious stuff.
If you need any furthter info or feedback I will be happy to give it.
Good luck and god bless
bob

For the record there are no scientific studies in any peer-reviewed journal that link Listerine to precancerous tissues or oral cancer. That is a bit of never ending BS that continues to circulate around. If it were true, it would be off the market, and there would be so many lawsuits in progress, the attorneys would be able to ignore all other cases. There are some mouthwashes that have higher than 25% alcohol, (an unbelievable amount) and there are many reasons to stay away from those, but a finite link to oral cancer isn't one of them.

To April_flowers: depending on the extent and location of the leukoplakia it may be removed with a laser these days. There is no guarantee that it will not recur, but it is an option.