Long-time sore throat, now sore in mouth... oral cancer?

[bulan]

I've been dealing with a sore throat, ear aches, hoarseness, and an inflamed feeling down my esophagus for several months. My family doctor and ENT did not find anything wrong, and suggested it might be acid reflux.

Just now I discovered a sore on the roof of my mouth. Red with a small white centre. Never had sores in the roof of my mouth before.

I'm going to try to make an emergency appointment with my dentist tomorrow.

Should I be worried about oral cancer?

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I'm just tired of being sick and tired, tired of anxiety, tired of mystery symptoms, tired of losing sleep over something as improbable as cancer... Tired of pain and tired if watching my time slip away being wasted on health anxiety. Ever since my uncle died of cancer-related surgical complications in January, I've been a wreck. It didn't help that I heard numerous stories around the same time of young parents, like me, fighting or dying of cancer. I'm exhausted but afraid to go to sleep... My imagination runs away on me as I lie here feeling the different symptoms... I'm really tired of this. :(

[sarahsparkleshine]

I feel for you. I feel the same way. Tired of feeling like this. I can tell you that what you are describingssounds like s normal mouth ulcer. I get them too. I always freak too. Remember to leave it alone

[bulan]

Thank you, Sarah!! Yeah, I suddenly felt the need to vent there. Thanks for letting me get it out of my system, and for your empathy!

[anthrokid]

Sounds like you've been having a rough time with anxiety lately, sorry to hear that :(

The sore you described on the roof of your mouth sounds like it could be an ulcer. They are generally harmless and heal up within a week. If it doesn't heal up just check in with your GP to see what you can do to help get rid of it :)

[bulan]

Thank you, anthrokid! :) I did see a GP today, who wasn't concerned about it at all. He just told me that when we're stressed and overtired, we tend to get more colds and sores in our mouths. I knew that, of course. But I always worry about the worst-case scenario, you know?

btw, are you an anthro major at university? :)

[anthrokid]

Good to hear :) Yep, I've always been told that ulcers flare up in times of stress/exhaustion. Hopefully you're feeling better about it now.

It's really easy to automatically jump to the worst-case scenario because those thoughts are usually the most prominent and exciting. Especially so with anxiety, when your body is always on the look out for 'warning' signs, so it interprets any little change as a 'warning' sign and then your mind catches up and follows suite. You just need to try and take the time to think through the worst-case scenarios to the more-likely scenarios. Easier said than done, I know :P But you know what they say - practice makes perfect - and for anxiety that is a very true saying.

Anthro was my co-major at uni in my undergrad :) good observation!

[bulan]

Especially so with anxiety, when your body is always on the look out for 'warning' signs, so it interprets any little change as a 'warning' sign and then your mind catches up and follows suite.
So true! And yes, practice makes perfect... Someone in an anxiety group on Facebook told me about the ABC method. It includes asking myself whether the triggers I experience usually result in the outcome I fear. In my case, I fear cancer and yet I've never had cancer so I have to remind myself that every symptom I've ever had was caused by something innocent. It IS possible to have symptoms without cancer being the cause. Repeat, repeat, repeat... :)

---------- Post added at 10:00 ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 ----------


Anthro was my co-major at uni in my undergrad :) good observation!
Very cool. I majored in global studies and took several anthro courses as part of my undergrad degree. I almost double-majored (or co-majored) in anthro too, but ultimately chose psychology instead. I still have a passion for anthropology though (and a bunch of other topics I didn't get the chance to take--too many majors, not enough money! lol). :)

[anthrokid]

ABC method for anxiety is great, especially for HA. Make sure you keep practicing it :) that way, over time, it will become habit (or natural) for you to think in such a way, which will be great at diminishing your anxiety!

Awesome! I did international relations for a while too, but I didn't have enough space to keep going with it given that my undergrad course was psychology specific, so I had to meet a certain amount of unit requirements and after those I only had enough room to make up one other major and no minors, haha! You're right, so many wonderful things to learn about and so little money :P

[bulan]

Has anyone had the above symptoms along with a feeling to pressure, like a tight knot, in their chest?