Hi,
I have recently visited my dentist and he is very concerned about a spot on my tongue and is referring me to an oral surgeon for biopsy. Of course I have been researching on the Internet in the meanwhile, and came across your site and was hoping to find some answers to questions I have.
The spot in question is near a previous biopsy site in which sutures were used. I never really looked at the site once it healed to see what it looked like. That was 2 years ago. Now there is a crater-looking thing with a whiteish yellow center, it is about 1/2 inch big. It does not hurt.
I am 29 years old, non-smoker, drink moderately, and would be very surprised if I had HPV.
Here are my questions:
1) What did your tongue lesion look like if you were diagnosed with cancer of the tongue?
2) I read oral cancer is becoming more common among young people, is this only true for those young people with HPV?
3) What is the difference (appearance wise) in cancer and precancer?

Thank you so much for your help. I am getting this checked out but wanted to find out some answers in the meanwhile.

Mindy

Hi

I never looked at the lesion under my tongue for one simple reason: I'm a great big wuss (sorry to use technical terms). It felt like I had a big kidney bean stuck on the underside of my tongue. My tongue never hurt, but I had a TERRIBLE earache that I attributed to a cold in my ear (I tried to convince myself that I had a cold sore, not a lesion or tumor)--but examinations of my ear showed nothing out of the ordinary. When I surfaced after surgery, my ear didn't hurt for the first time in months.

Please let us know how everything turns out.

Hi Mindy

I had an op to remove a tumour on my tongue last October. Before that I had had leukoplakia (precancerous cells) for three years. The leokoplakia just looked like white patches on my tongue which would occasionally be a little sore for a couple of days after which the soreness would wear off. Then in June or July last year it became very sore like an ulcer and it would not go away no matter what I tried. I must admit I didn't look at it closely as I was just concerned that it hurt - in the end I was taking the maximum number of painkillers I could. As soon as I got to max fax and the doctor saw it and felt it, I think he knew he knew it was cancer (though I had a biopsy and MRI scan to confirm this).

I do hope everything turns out OK for you.

Regards
Gwyn