Hi Everyone

I�m worried about a lump in my lip I've had for 2 1/2 weeks now. I've just got back from the doctors and I�m really looking for a second opinion as it�s the second time I have visited the doctor and been told to come back in 2-3 weeks.

It all started 2 1/2 weeks ago when I woke up I noticed a small pea sized lump in the lower right side of my lip...it looks soft but when you push down on it its very hard and is painless. After a week I went to have it checked out by the doc, I�m only 24 years old and expressed my concern that it could be something serious (i.e. cancer), He had a very quick look..told me that oral cancer usually started in the lining of the mouth and that it was a cancer of 50 year olds who have been smoking all there lives and that this lump should disappear and I should """ see how it go's and come back in two weeks if it hasn't""" and not to worry.

After 2 1/2 weeks it still remained and looked to have grown a little in size so I went back...this time I saw a different doctor.

This Doctor had a very good look and told me it was a benign growth and that I shouldn�t worry...he said he wasn�t going to refer me. But to go back in 2-3 weeks if it still remained. He said it was quite common and that I shouldn�t worry....Both these doctors didn�t really instill me with confidence as they couldn�t explain to me properly what it was.

Now I�m worried as I feel like if it is something serious then I will have to wait...and this could make it worse.

Can anybody advise me on what this could be and/or what I should do?

Hello Mikimak

If you go and see your dentist, he/she could refer you to the local maxillofacial unit who could investigate your lump, whatever it is.

If your dentist is really worried that it might be a cancer he will make a fast track referral that gets you seen within two weeks.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes
Vinod :coffee:

Hi Vinod

Thanks for the advice...I think I will give it 1 week to see if I notice a change...If its the same or gets any bigger then I will see my dentist and the doctor just to make sure. By looking at some of the other posts on this site these lumps are very common.

I will be sure to inform you how things turn out.

Mikimak

Hi Dr Vinod

It�s now been 4 1/2 weeks since I noticed this lump in my lip and it�s finally reduced in size. I can still feel it and it�s still very noticeable but it has reduced in size so my mind is now at ease.

My advice to anybody who gets the same thing is to get it checked out and don�t worry too much.

I was really worried for a few weeks but everything seems to have turned out fine.

Again thanks and well done on this most useful site.

i've got the same thing. exactly how you described it. lower right hand corner. i noticed mine wednesday and it seemed like it reduced a bit in size overnight, which i'm pretty sure tumors dont do. its smaller than a pea, hard as a rock, no pain at all. ill be seeing my doctor on monday.

i am still pretty worried, tho i should tell ya i am a total hypochondriac. so hopefully its no big deal... thanks for making my day a little easier.

Both of you please follow thru with visits to a specialist on this...Let us know how you are doing...We all do care..Always Vicki

I don't know if you have already done anything about your lump, but I have the exact same thing. It is nothing more than a mucocele most likely caused by some sort of trauma to your lip, such as biting it. It's a salivary gland cyst filled with mucous, simple to fix, and very relieving to know that's all it is.

Typically they fluctuate in size due to the reabsorbtion of the fluids into the surrounding connective tissues in your lip. I'm getting mine removed at the same time as my wisdom teeth. I agonized for weeks about this, fretting it may be some terminal STD or something equally as horrifying, so I was slightly reluctant to see a doctor. When I did indeed go to a doctor, she drained it and sent it to the lab for a culture. I was then informed that it's seemingly normal. After a few more weeks of it reoccuring and becoming more and more of a nuisance to my speech, I drained it myself about two to three times a week (in a sanitary manner, mind you) until I finally went to consult an oral surgeon. You'd be surprised at how common mucoceles are, especially among young adults (which I assume the lip biting directly relates to stress which relates back to lumpy lip). I hope my input is helpful to those who are worried about mouth cancer.