I know I can't get the help in a heart beat, but im freaking out so badly i cant bear it, I am only in college and I have jus researched alot about mouth cancer. I am a tobacco chewer, and I have this lump in the back of my mouth. It is to the right of my tonsil. It has 3 white dots and is quite solid feeling. I am so concerned, i cant sleep I can only ask for help, I am 18, I called my dad and only to get exploded on how stupid it was of me to chew, nothing helpful at all. Is there any words of encouragement right now? I just want to know what are hte possibilities of something not serios happening if i have caught it at a early stage? alright, i think I have said enough, thanks for the reply to all who do.

Hi Chris,

I am not an expert on these things and i am sure you will get a reply from someone who is soon, but i just wanted to offer e few words of encouragement. I am a 29 year old smoker who is having a few problems i have had bad throat for 9 weeks swollen glands on the left and ear ache and doctors seem to dismiss everything serious due to my age. So for someone your age it would be very very unlikely that you had anything like cancer. I think you need to get it checked out by a dentist or a doctor who will refer you to an oral surgeon for furhter test. Try not to worry to much and please let us know how you get on. xx

Good Morning Chris,
mouth cancer is most often found in older males with a tobacco habit.So let's have a look at a few ups and downs.You chew tobacco and you know the risks so I won't dwell on this point,on the other side of the coin you are young and the incidence of mouth cancer is only about 0.003% of the population diagnosed per year( figures apply to UK but I suppose they are similar in US)and there are a number of less sinister explanations for a lump in the mouth,so give up worrying about it.But, Chris, Sally is quite right in what she says you MUST get a dentist/doctor to examine this problem,not next month but as soon as you can get an appointment.Whilst the chances of this being mouth cancer are very small you can't afford to take the risk.If mouth cancer is diagnosed and dealt with in the early stages the treatment is not particularly severe,The problems come when diagnosis is delayed so pick up the phone and call your dentist or doctor right now.( unless it is 2 in the morning, he might not appreciate the call, but do it first thing in the morning)A lot of people will have read your posting and be thinking about you because we have all been there so please let us know how you get on. we all wish you the best of luck Chris
Keep Smiling
John

Well thank you for your help, I know i need to get it looked at. I am hoping to make an appointment today after college classes, and then get to a doctor on friday, when we dont have class and only afternoon work.

Hi Chris

A cancer of the tonsil doesn't usually present as a white spot on the tonsil. The white spot could be a bead of pus in an infected tonsil crypt or a tonsil stone.

Have a look at these posts about whitish lump. Also do a search of the Q&A section for the word 'lump at back of throat' and 'tonsil' as some of the answers might be relevant. Hope that helps stop you worrying.

Do see your doctor about it for a diagnosis. Let us know what it is.

Do stop chewing tobacco - it is a dangerous habit. You may find this post on chewing tobacco risks. helpful.

Best wishes
Vinod

Chris, First things first--CALM DOWN--. There are "SO" many reasons what this could be. My son had something like this when he young..It was nothing that some antibotic's didn't take care of. Try not to worry yourself,, you will just wear yourself out. Then you will see how much time you wasted over this.. In the meantime get yourself to a doctor..Pleaseletus know the outcome ....We will be saying our prayers....Always, Vicki Lynn

I went to the doctor and he did a few breathe tests and all the simple things, then he went to look in my mouth, he must of looked for 10 seconds, and then he simply stated that it resembles a cancor sore. I really dont know if he saw what was in the back of my mouth. I believe to see something else in the abck of my throat, behind that hanging part in your mouth. THe lump is just before the tonsil on my right. Anyone hear of a white spotted cancor sore and many other things in the back of the throat, plus there is like red flesh above the 'cancor' sore. Ill try to find a picture that best resembles it tonight. Thanks.

Chris, I hear you loud and clear. I have been to SOOOOOOO many Doctor's office's that I can't remember many of them. That is a lot. If there is one thing that I have learned in all of this. It is that the minute I walk into their office----I am at their mercy. I hate to admit this but it is a fact. I don't think that I am alone either. I don't know why I am like this but I am. I will say this tho--I am getting better at it. LOL.. After allllllll these years I should be a pro with it but I am not. They walk in and all those questions that I had to ask them--well they just escape me. The Doctor owns me from then on. It is only with the help of my husband that I have gotten better with it. The last Doctor that I went , the one that told me to leave his office, well that was an eception to the rule, they are not all like that, thank the stars..I have been in so much pain that I just couldn't stand it, told a Doctor how I felt, with him not really listening, writing the entire time I am talking, on a perscription pad. It was like he knew it all allready..He wasn't listening to me, I was just another patient with what the one before me had. Do you understand what I am saying. They do what they want, when they want, how they want. This has been my experience anyway. My CANCER Doctor's are different, they do care. They do listen. But until you find that one---the one that does--this is what you go thru. They walk in,,,after you have waited for a hour, spend 5 minutes with you, walk out, give you a script and charge you 200.00.....Chris I am so sorry that this is the way you were treated. I would get another opinion. I cannot stress to you how many of us have been mis-diagnosed. How many of us have had Doctor's just send us away..I am not trying to scare you---at all--but you know your body..You know or you feel that there is something there--DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE HAD IT CHECKED OUT!!!! If you don't listen to a thing anyone says to you---Listen to this----Follow your own feelings. I knew something was wrong. They said there wasn't anything there.,,3 months later---I HAD CANCER!!!....Now go get this taken care off once and for all.....ALways,,,Vicki Lynn

Hi Chris,
You might want to find another Dr and insist that they do a cat scan that is how they found my husbands cancer. Looking down his throat and ears even with a scope did not find the tumor. So for peace of mind do that.

Terry

Alright, Well thank you all very much. Ill get on that cat scan, and find out whats going on. I cant believe doctors are like that, makes me very furious. And.. I dont think happy things towards people who do things like this, their job to help people at the best of their abilities and they just accept the money with least amount of work.

Hi, I am glad you are going to do the cat scan. You need that reassurance.

Terry

Its going to be a while before ican get it tho, I have to get to the doctor on monday, and idk what the specifics are on getting one, but today I was spitting, and i spat out blood, now to me that is something bad :S... im so scarred, i dont know what todo, besides get to the doctor, but thats so far away. I hate this so much. Makes me think of things i shouldnt normally think of.

Hi Chris,
Hope you are doing alright. I am also calling the Dr. on Monday to schedule a cat scan for Jerry. The pain in his ear is too much for him to handle. He is on pain medicine but it is not helping.
Terry

Hi Chris,
After going to many doctors, my husband was diagnosed with tonsil cancer at the Mayo Clinic in mid-June. My husband does not use tobacco and the docs felt it may have been caused by a virus or just plain bad luck. The ENT doctor recommended neck dissection, radiation and chemo but the rad-onc doctors there recommended just chemo and radiation. (You will get a lot of differing opinions on treatment if your case does turn out to be cancer.) We returned home where our medical center is equipped with an IMRT. He is now on his 6th week of radiation out of 7 and had had 2 rounds of chemo. Before he started treatment, the docs recommended he having a feeding tube and port inserted, Thankfully he followed their advice because he developed a severe case of mucositis and has had to use a feeding tube for the last 4 weeks. It has been miserable, but worth it because all indications are that they got the tumor - which of course they won't know for sure until treatment is completed. Good luck!

Hello Chris

While it is prudent to seek a second opinion from an ENT specialist, please understand that you are only 18 years old and most tobacco chewers have been chewing for years and the cancer develops adjacent to where the quid is kept. So your age and the location are against this being a cancer, but do the necessary for peace of mind (as I would) but don't panic because the odds are in your favour! Do let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Vinod