Worried about Oral Cancer

[Allen]

So.... about 2 weeks ago, i started noticing a slight pain on the bottom of my tongue (usually only felt when I would rub my bottom of my tongue along the bottom of my teeth. I checked in mirror and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Next day I put oraljel on the bottom of my tongue and it burned. Next day, it was a red spot and thats when the extreme worry set in.

The next day, it had a white spot and bordering the white spot was the red spot. I went to my Dr. and he looked at it and said it looked like "Oral Lichen Planus" and said it looked completely benign (i had oral lichen planus about 3 years ago... it was biopsied and determined to be oral lichen planus, but it was in a different spot in my mouth; along the cheek and gum area.

As the days continued, the spot (white spot with red around it) was persistently there. A few days later, I went to Urgent Care to get another opinion. The Urgent Care Dr. didnt seem to know what it could be and just referred me to the ENT.

A few days after that I started to get pain in the jaw. It was just like constant pressure. Didnt really hurt when i chew or talked, but mainly when I was just sitting still, not doing anything, it felt like someone was squeezing my jaws of my face. I went to E.R. dept and was SURE I had oral cancer. The red/white spot was still there and there were even other little spots on different parts of my tongue that would come and go too! The E.R. Dr came in and thought I was crazy. He said, "oral cancer would look different than what you have, and it wouldn't be spreading all around your tongue... it would just continue to grow out or dig in etc.." Just to make sure, they ordered a XRAY of my jaw to check for bone deformity or tumors and they said it came back CLEAR. He said i probably developed TMJ/TMD from all the stress that I have put myself through.

I finally saw my ENT and he did a visual observation of the lesion on my tongue and he said it did NOT look like anything that he would be concerned about. He said that it looked like Oral Lichen Planus and as far as the jaw pain, he asked if I was under a ton of stress (which obviously I have been). I have been googling and WebMD'ng for the past 2 weeks and worrying myself sick and crying non stop it seems. I have been CONVINCED that i have Oral Cancer and that all the doctors are missing something!

My original Dr. that i saw when it first happened was notified of my jaw pain. He did a telephone appt and saw the Dr's that i have seen since our first visit. He said that he saw the Xrays of my jaw and said if the tongue lesion and the jaw pain were associated with one another, it would most likely would have shown something on the XRAY (which it didnt). I even asked if maybe an MRI would be better suited at looking at that joint, he said no, he's never ordered an MRI for a TMJ/TMD problem... but said TMJ/TMD is fairly common and could be a byprouct of all the worrying and tension that I have been under lately. He prescribed me MOBIC 15mg. It helps as long as I am on it, but at night.. when it starts to wear off... I feel the pressure again... albeit not as bad.

In my mind I cant stop thinking about ALL the websites I've visited and ALL the pictures of oral cancer that seem eerily close to what I have. Yet at the same time, I think... I have seen 4 doctors (primary doctor, Urgent Care Dr., ER DR. and ENT)... all of which dont seem to be overly concerned about the lesion saying it doesnt fit the appearance of oral cancer. But in my mind, the fact that I have the lesion and now jaw pain, OH IT MUST MEAN ORAL CANCER.

i want a biopsy but then again i dont because of what i fear might be the outcome. The ENT offered a biopsy but at the same time said, he doesnt believe it needed one based on the clinical appearance of the lesion etc.

My life is a downward spiral at times and I am feeling constant dread and fear and disbelief ... ugh

 

[Kelculator]

I'm so sorry to know how much stress you're under. This must be just a hard situation, as I have experienced that inner turmoil as you wait for results, check symptoms, and overthink.
First thing first... Understand that you are okay. I know what you're thinking, but thinking that you are unwell does not MEAN you are unwell. Feelings are feelings, thoughts are just thoughts. The result came back clear, and a few doctors believed you are okay, so I am not concerned about your situation, in a third-person point-of-view. Don't get me wrong, I am concerned about your mental well-being and how this is affecting you, but physically you are okay.
Maybe it is just me, but when I get anxious, my neck, jaw and chest muscles tighten, and would cause soreness and even pain. This may be the reason you had the jaw pain.
Note that our mind is extremely powerful. Extremely. My anxiety had created symptoms SO real that tricked my doctors into thinking I had real problems--- which, of course also freaked me out. Turned out it was nothing but anxiety. The realest symptoms can be created or worsened 10 times by anxiety. Obviously you are experiencing some infections that me and you do not know of for now, and your anxiety has "turned" it into a severe situation, making you all worried and emotionally drained. Try to calm yourself down, tell yourself you are okay.

 

[janemariesayed]

Wow you seem to be going through so much at the moment! If those doctors have examined you and said that it is not cancer then you must try to believe them. Half of our health issues come from the mind. People have been known to cure themselves of cancer just by positive thinking.

 

[Richard G]

So.... about 2 weeks ago, i started noticing a slight pain on the bottom of my tongue (usually only felt when I would rub my bottom of my tongue along the bottom of my teeth. I checked in mirror and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Next day I put oraljel on the bottom of my tongue and it burned. Next day, it was a red spot and thats when the extreme worry set in.

The next day, it had a white spot and bordering the white spot was the red spot. I went to my Dr. and he looked at it and said it looked like "Oral Lichen Planus" and said it looked completely benign (i had oral lichen planus about 3 years ago... it was biopsied and determined to be oral lichen planus, but it was in a different spot in my mouth; along the cheek and gum area.

As the days continued, the spot (white spot with red around it) was persistently there. A few days later, I went to Urgent Care to get another opinion. The Urgent Care Dr. didnt seem to know what it could be and just referred me to the ENT.

A few days after that I started to get pain in the jaw. It was just like constant pressure. Didnt really hurt when i chew or talked, but mainly when I was just sitting still, not doing anything, it felt like someone was squeezing my jaws of my face. I went to E.R. dept and was SURE I had oral cancer. The red/white spot was still there and there were even other little spots on different parts of my tongue that would come and go too! The E.R. Dr came in and thought I was crazy. He said, "oral cancer would look different than what you have, and it wouldn't be spreading all around your tongue... it would just continue to grow out or dig in etc.." Just to make sure, they ordered a XRAY of my jaw to check for bone deformity or tumors and they said it came back CLEAR. He said i probably developed TMJ/TMD from all the stress that I have put myself through.

I finally saw my ENT and he did a visual observation of the lesion on my tongue and he said it did NOT look like anything that he would be concerned about. He said that it looked like Oral Lichen Planus and as far as the jaw pain, he asked if I was under a ton of stress (which obviously I have been). I have been googling and WebMD'ng for the past 2 weeks and worrying myself sick and crying non stop it seems. I have been CONVINCED that i have Oral Cancer and that all the doctors are missing something!

My original Dr. that i saw when it first happened was notified of my jaw pain. He did a telephone appt and saw the Dr's that i have seen since our first visit. He said that he saw the Xrays of my jaw and said if the tongue lesion and the jaw pain were associated with one another, it would most likely would have shown something on the XRAY (which it didnt). I even asked if maybe an MRI would be better suited at looking at that joint, he said no, he's never ordered an MRI for a TMJ/TMD problem... but said TMJ/TMD is fairly common and could be a byprouct of all the worrying and tension that I have been under lately. He prescribed me MOBIC 15mg. It helps as long as I am on it, but at night.. when it starts to wear off... I feel the pressure again... albeit not as bad.

In my mind I cant stop thinking about ALL the websites I've visited and ALL the pictures of oral cancer that seem eerily close to what I have. Yet at the same time, I think... I have seen 4 doctors (primary doctor, Urgent Care Dr., ER DR. and ENT)... all of which dont seem to be overly concerned about the lesion saying it doesnt fit the appearance of oral cancer. But in my mind, the fact that I have the lesion and now jaw pain, OH IT MUST MEAN ORAL CANCER.

i want a biopsy but then again i dont because of what i fear might be the outcome. The ENT offered a biopsy but at the same time said, he doesnt believe it needed one based on the clinical appearance of the lesion etc.

My life is a downward spiral at times and I am feeling constant dread and fear and disbelief ... ugh

So.... about 2 weeks ago, i started noticing a slight pain on the bottom of my tongue (usually only felt when I would rub my bottom of my tongue along the bottom of my teeth. I checked in mirror and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Next day I put oraljel on the bottom of my tongue and it burned. Next day, it was a red spot and thats when the extreme worry set in.

The next day, it had a white spot and bordering the white spot was the red spot. I went to my Dr. and he looked at it and said it looked like "Oral Lichen Planus" and said it looked completely benign (i had oral lichen planus about 3 years ago... it was biopsied and determined to be oral lichen planus, but it was in a different spot in my mouth; along the cheek and gum area.

As the days continued, the spot (white spot with red around it) was persistently there. A few days later, I went to Urgent Care to get another opinion. The Urgent Care Dr. didnt seem to know what it could be and just referred me to the ENT.

A few days after that I started to get pain in the jaw. It was just like constant pressure. Didnt really hurt when i chew or talked, but mainly when I was just sitting still, not doing anything, it felt like someone was squeezing my jaws of my face. I went to E.R. dept and was SURE I had oral cancer. The red/white spot was still there and there were even other little spots on different parts of my tongue that would come and go too! The E.R. Dr came in and thought I was crazy. He said, "oral cancer would look different than what you have, and it wouldn't be spreading all around your tongue... it would just continue to grow out or dig in etc.." Just to make sure, they ordered a XRAY of my jaw to check for bone deformity or tumors and they said it came back CLEAR. He said i probably developed TMJ/TMD from all the stress that I have put myself through.

I finally saw my ENT and he did a visual observation of the lesion on my tongue and he said it did NOT look like anything that he would be concerned about. He said that it looked like Oral Lichen Planus and as far as the jaw pain, he asked if I was under a ton of stress (which obviously I have been). I have been googling and WebMD'ng for the past 2 weeks and worrying myself sick and crying non stop it seems. I have been CONVINCED that i have Oral Cancer and that all the doctors are missing something!

My original Dr. that i saw when it first happened was notified of my jaw pain. He did a telephone appt and saw the Dr's that i have seen since our first visit. He said that he saw the Xrays of my jaw and said if the tongue lesion and the jaw pain were associated with one another, it would most likely would have shown something on the XRAY (which it didnt). I even asked if maybe an MRI would be better suited at looking at that joint, he said no, he's never ordered an MRI for a TMJ/TMD problem... but said TMJ/TMD is fairly common and could be a byprouct of all the worrying and tension that I have been under lately. He prescribed me MOBIC 15mg. It helps as long as I am on it, but at night.. when it starts to wear off... I feel the pressure again... albeit not as bad.

In my mind I cant stop thinking about ALL the websites I've visited and ALL the pictures of oral cancer that seem eerily close to what I have. Yet at the same time, I think... I have seen 4 doctors (primary doctor, Urgent Care Dr., ER DR. and ENT)... all of which dont seem to be overly concerned about the lesion saying it doesnt fit the appearance of oral cancer. But in my mind, the fact that I have the lesion and now jaw pain, OH IT MUST MEAN ORAL CANCER.

i want a biopsy but then again i dont because of what i fear might be the outcome. The ENT offered a biopsy but at the same time said, he doesnt believe it needed one based on the clinical appearance of the lesion etc.

My life is a downward spiral at times and I am feeling constant dread and fear and disbelief ... ugh

I recently went through a period where I was convinced I had oral cancer as well. I had a growth on the inside of my lip..turns out to be totally benign after seeing dentist and ENT. It is caused by repeated biting of the inside of the lip (a bad habit esp. when I was younger). I have a good friend who actually had oral cancer on his tongue and his symptoms were much different then yours. He got it treated early, was cured. My ENT says as long as you have regular dental check-ups...every 6 months...they do oral cancer screenings. She also said oral cancers have such a different appearance than benign lesions, your body will let you know. My friend was in a lot of pain. He felt "off". Other people I know who have had cancer have said the same thing. Plus, oral cancer is in fact very rare especially among non-smokers/people who chew tobacco. I too have TMJ which is aggravated by my stress of fear of illness.

 

[Allen]

I recently went through a period where I was convinced I had oral cancer as well. I had a growth on the inside of my lip..turns out to be totally benign after seeing dentist and ENT. It is caused by repeated biting of the inside of the lip (a bad habit esp. when I was younger). I have a good friend who actually had oral cancer on his tongue and his symptoms were much different then yours. He got it treated early, was cured. My ENT says as long as you have regular dental check-ups...every 6 months...they do oral cancer screenings. She also said oral cancers have such a different appearance than benign lesions, your body will let you know. My friend was in a lot of pain. He felt "off". Other people I know who have had cancer have said the same thing. Plus, oral cancer is in fact very rare especially among non-smokers/people who chew tobacco. I too have TMJ which is aggravated by my stress of fear of illness.

Thank you for your replies and offering your words of encouragement. Well... I went to the ENT again. When I got there, they were kind of stunned like... "why are you making another appointment?"... the ENT even asked... "did something change?" I told him no, I just wanted a second look at the spot on my tongue. He looked at it again and said, "looks pretty much the same as last time I saw you... and still don't see a need to biopsy it"... he then said, he'd biopsy it if it made me feel better. I was scared because I was afraid to learn of the results, but said, okay... fine, lets do it.

He biopsied it (hurt like heck) and said... i'll call you in a few weeks but don't expect to see anything serious come up honestly. Well.. a few weeks went by and he called and said... the biopsy came back normal. No signs of malignancy and looks like a lichen planus/oral lichenoid lesion... he said, just enjoy your life and keep the stress down.

Well... that gave me some comfort and relief... but the demons in my head are still messing with me. Every little ache and pain I attribute to my sore on my tongue.

My jaw pain is pretty much gone BUT i still have a slight tenderness/soreness in the jaw area on occasion and right away i think it HAS to be because of my tongue sore.

I then did the horrible mistake of googling again and saw different stories of peope going to multiple doctors and even getting multiple biopsies and all coming back negative and then ending up having oral cancer... so I am still one big mess..

thank you everyone for your replies though.

its a daily battle ... sigh