Hi, I am new to this website and I have a question. I have a lump on the lower inside of my bottom gum that is not painful and not movable when you touch it. I am 34 and a smoker, although I have only been smoking for about 7yrs. I was just wondering if this could be a sign of oral/mouth cancer. Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

Good Morning TRW,
See your dentist or doctor for a diagnosis, the lump is not necessarily a cancer but you need to be sure. The people who survive mouth cancer are,in general, the ones who get prompt attention. The ones who don't get prompt attention require more drastic treatment, so pick up the phone and make the appointment now.
A good start would be to put out the cigarette you are smoking and make it your last one, you say you are a smoker for "only" seven years ,that is seven years too long. About eighty five per cent of mouth cancer patients are smokers! Think about it.
Keep Smiling
John

Hi there TRW
As always, John has given his sensible advice. I always feel calm when I read his posts. I resisted the urge to respond to your message yesterday because although my comments would basically have been the same, I felt a little too 'passionate' about the 'I have only been smoking for 7 yrs' bit. As John said, any cigarette is one cigarette too many and please don't think 'great! I've got 15% to play with. One more smoke won't hurt'. It may not.
However, my husband had NEVER smoked although he did work in a small lab full of chain smokers. Some of them are still here and Trevor is gone. I wonder how that works?
I wish you well and hope your lump is there simply for you to get nagged by women like me ~ quit now!
Cheers from Down Under
Deborah
PS My husband's initials were TRW

Hey TRW,

You have to see a dentist or doc quickly for a diagnosis - delaying diagnosis only leaves you with the What If? worry. Delaying it does NOT make it go away. Funny how that works.

I posted this earlier to a young man who dipped. John Spencer, our resident sweetheart guy who posted to you earlier, said that it frightenend him although he quit smoking 35 years ago! I hope it scares the crap out of you too. I'm going to work on it and make it even more threatening....if only I had the time.
**********
Let's see...what can scare you? How about surgery where a good portion of your tongue is removed and a portion of your upper arm or thigh is used to reconstruct the missing tongue parts? A 'peg' inserted into your stomach so that you can accommodate nutrients because you can't pass anything down your throat? Surgery that removes parts of your lips or chin or other facial feature so that you are deformed? Loss of taste buds so that you can never again enjoy whatever foods you now enjoy? A loss where everything you eat tastes like salt? Or like nothing? Lack of saliva so that you can't masticate food? Mucous in your throat that gags you, interferes with sleeping and that you might have to use a mechanical method to suck that crap out of your mouth? Every day - ten times a day - never ending? How about speech therapy so that others can understand what it is that you're trying to say? What if your throat box is removed? Radical neck dissection so that your affected cancerous lymph nodes are removed but can lead to lymphodema, lack of movement in your head or shoulders, pain in your neck and shoulders and even in your ears?

Because of the harm caused by the treatment that helps you (this is the irony), any teeth that your docs (medical oncologist, surgeon, radiation oncologist) believe will hinder treatment will have to be pulled and you'll be fitted with dentures, implants or whatever is required. One of our favorite posters did not have teeth pulled and what he's left with are rotting stumps that can't be pulled because of some radiation effect that I don't understand, but that I know would be harmful to him if his teeth are removed. Willing to undergo that? He can't open his mouth far enough to accommodate a denture that would fit over the stumps.

What else? Oh yes, you can die. Early. Way before your life expectancy.

Up to you, bro.

Mimi

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mimi McC,

You go Mimi..........I couldn't have said it better and I'll put my two cents in. I didn't and will never smoke, I was always around people who did , Father, Grandfather, Uncles, first husband and second husband and he smoked was 5 packs of Camels a day. AHhhhhhhhh oh and one of my Sisters still smokes and when we go to her house nothing do I take out of that house because she and the house reek of SMOKE and it's horrible. I actually spray her house with Fabreze when I go in. Now most of those people are gone and I became the lucky one and I say that with sarcasm because I really am one of the lucky ones........ I am a survivor. I had the radical neck dissection ,part of my tongue removed, no saliva, feeding tube for 2 1/2 years now removed, taste buds change from minute to minute, weight loss, wrinkles because of the weight loss and once in a great while something might taste good and all of a sudden the tongue burns so badly that it feels like it's going to fall out. All the sweets that I loved are like poison to me. I could go on and on but hopefully you'll get the picture. One last thing I tell people to have a ten minute pity party a day or save them and have a bigger one maybe once a month......well when I went through all this baloney I really didn't take it too seriously because we never hade Cancer around us and no operations but when reality set in I really felt that between my and neck and mouth that part of me died and I never grieved (funny how we think huh?) Well guess what? Friday was my birthday and someone wanted me to have a canoli because they thought I could eat it well...... I had a meltdown after 3 1/2 years and it was like how do they know, they don't know , why don't the just shut up ( not outloud but in my mind) and that was the longest pity party I ever had and hopefully the only one. On the other hand I'm glad it happened, it's over and I am one of the LUCKY ONES. My thoughts now are get over it girl ya got lots of things to do. Good luck and ditch the butts. Joan P.

Woooo Hoooooo! You go Joan.
What a great attitude! I love you.
Deborah

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment. Now my only problem is that I have no dental insurance and I am the only one working in my family. I have to work everyday just so that my paycheck is fairly decent enough to pay all the bills on my own. I have twin boys who need and depend on me and I am so scared. I know I need to go but I haven't got any extra money. I come from a small family (very small) and not enough good credit to even try to get a loan from the bank to pay the dentist. I don't know what to do. I am so scared and depressed. Any suggestions? Thanks again.

Once again I'm dumbfounded by the health care system in a country that holds itself up as a world leader! It sucks.
I wish you well TRW but unfortunately can't offer any more than that.
Best of luck
Deborah

Good Moning TRW,
Reading your post leaves me with a heavy heart,surely there must be some way you can get professional advice without having to pay out money which,clearly, you do not have.Even though this type of medical problem is usually the province of a dentist I am sure your doctor would give you the benefit of his advice.I said in my previous posting that the lump is not necessarily a cancer but you need to be sure,I stand by this.I hope that your next post makes better reading.

Deborah, I share your feelings about the land of opportunity (providing you are rich). The mercenary attitude of the medical/dental profession in America seems at odds with the spirit of the Hyppocratic oath.
Next wednesday I have an appointment for my six weekly check at the oncology clinic. The hospital was built in Victorian times, one could be forgiven for thinking that it pre dates Napoleon. The window frames are shabby for want of a coat of paint and the chairs in the waiting room are a hotch potch of oddments which look as though they were rescued from a rubbish dump. On the other hand no one will ask me if I can afford to pay for treatment, and the clinical staff are amongst the best you will find anywhere in the world. If I need treatment I will get it and I will not have to face financial ruin. I thank God for the National Health Service, it may not be perfect but it beats many alternatives.
Keep Smiling
John

Hi TRW

I know how you feel. I was uninsured and unemployed when I developed tongue cancer. Is there any kind of low-cost or (better) free health care in your area? Have you tried to go through your state to see if there might be some kind of help available? I was turned down flat by the state of Michigan because I was (and remain) single and childless and would probably not be disabled. What a pile of BS!

You said you don't have dental insurance. Do you have insurance that would cover a visit to a gp? If so, would they be able to send you to a teaching hospital? I don't know if they're all run the same, but I've been treated at the University of Michigan, and they even had social workers available to speak with me about the situation. It's definitely worth a shot.

The good news is you're not alone in this. The bad news is you're not alone in this.

Julia

Hi again TRW,

Do you have medical insurance? Go to your GP (whether or not you have insurance) to get the lump checked. The GP will probably refer you to an ENT or other specialist. The important thing is a swift diagnosis and treatment if required. Go ahead and make the appointments as if you're able to pay for them and worry about paying the bills later. I realize that sounds foolish but it's crucial that you get a diagnosis.

I've been through two bouts of cancer and have sat in waiting rooms listening to and sharing cancer stories for a while now. I heard stories similar to yours over and over and yet we were all receiving the same treatment with the same doctors. Once you get into the system you're safe but you may have to lie a little to get there. In the beginning just go to the docs, get billed and pay for them if you can; if you can't, let 'em slide until you're able, if ever. You may ruin what credit you have, but that's not what's important right now - what is important is you, your twins and the rest of your family.

Once you get into the system, your hospital or cancer center will have social workers on staff that can help you through the payment nightmare. The first thing they usually do is adjust the payment downward. This takes a little time of course but if you're undergoing treatment, it's the least of your worries. I became friendly with a guy who had rads at the same time I did and we talked for a few minutes each day, 5 days a week for 7 weeks. The hospital bill was $96,000 and he was able to get it reduced to $17,000, payable over 10 years. They will work with you and will not - let me repeat - will not deny you treatment once you are diagnosed no matter what your financial situation is. Also check the American Cancer Society, any teaching hospital in your vicinity, County hospital, etc.

You may someday have to declare bankruptcy, you may lose your home but the most important thing to hang on to is your life.

Our health care system sucks and despite stories such as your's, people will continue to distrust 'socialized medicine.' I can think of about five legitimate reasons why we shouldn't have comprehensive health care for all and 40 million reasons why we should (that's the number of Americans who are uninsured).

Please let us know what your efforts are and among the Americans on the board, perhaps we can help you through the maze. Now's the time to take care of yourself not only for you but for your family.

Best of luck, TRW.

Mimi

Well, today I made an appt. with a oral surgeon. The appt. is on Tues. July 21st at 3:30p.m. The nurse said the first appt. will be a consult appt. What all goes on with a consult appt. I work in a pediatrician's office and I can't afford to take too many days off of work. I just wish they would do everything all in one day. The other day I noticed that it feels like something is caught in my throat. The more I think about it I have also been having trouble lately swallowing my medicine in the morning. I don't have my tonsils, had them removed when I was 8 or 9. Thanks again to everyone who has posted. Mimi your information was so very important to me. I feel like you all are there for me and that means the world to me. I will keep everyone posted on how everything is going. Please keep me in your prayers. God Bless.

Hi TRW
So glad you are making progress and have been able to get an appt.
I don't do prayers however you are definitely in my thoughts and I'm sending all my positive vibes your way.
Take care.
Deborah

Hi TRW

I'm so glad that you were able to get an appointment. If it's at all possible, please take someone with you, not just for moral support, but also to ask any questions you might have forgotten. You might even want to write down any questions you might have and take them with you.

What happens at a consult appointment usually depends on what the doctor sees. It's unlikely that they'd to a biopsy then.

I'm hoping for the best for you.

Julia

Ok so I have this red bump on the roof of my mouth. I just thought is was from spicy foods because it would come up and last for weeks and go away. It's not cancer or anything to worry about if it is going away right. It will last a couple of weeks and get better. I am trying to remember everything that is going on in my mouth so that I can tell the dentist when I go. Also, I had a tooth on the top that just starting breaking and chipping off a couple of months ago. It is now completely gone, no more tooth. I have one on the bottom that is doing the same thing. Could these all be symptoms of oral cancer too? Just wondering.