Oral cancer forums, take a look at this guys response.

[Michael2112]

Sorry to make a new thread, I have an active discussion about my oral cancer fears which seem ridiculous, unfortunatly I learned quite a few things that cannot be unlearned I thought I had just a minor issue and the consensious would be that cancer would have made me very sick by now and I would be very aware something was wrong. I cannot post a link to the other thread, the basic point was that I had what my doc called mucous sack on lower gums five years ago, it has come and gone since then with sometimes half a years time before noticing another maybe even a year. I have no other issues and am otherwise fine. I just figures cancer would grow and I would be very ill by now

On another online forum a guy said this, I'm pretty much doomed here
My worst fear was something like this, I knew it was a possibility but decided to post to forums anyway, knowing that there was a good chance to make the issue far worse. I can't go back


Hi Michael.

I didn't see your post yesterday but this one came through to me, although i'm unsure why. It is odd timing, though.

My mother used to suffer with tonsilitis a lot, as did my daughter but hers were removed, but my mother used to always get us to look in her mouth. Gross!! Yes, but interesting.

When i looked in i saw white nodes or lumps, sacs if you will, that were filled with pus, i guess. It was always tonsilitis.

My brother, to my knowledge, has never had tonsilitis. He has always been diligent with his dental care and many, many years ago told me he thought he was brushing his teeth too much or too hard as he had an abcess on the side of his tongue. He asked me to look at it and it looked like a white node as in my mother's mouth only larger and different, kind of like when you bite your tongue and it leaves that white lump.

This happened on and off for years and he'd go to the doctor and be put on antibiotics or told to gargle, he even spoke about it to his dentist. He was told everything from he was biting his tongue, chewing on it during sleep, puncturing it with food; a whole list of things.

One day he happened to show it to a doctor who sent him straight off for a biopsy and it turned out that this abcess that was coming and going for years and years was actually "C".

He had to have part of his tongue removed, learn to speak again and breathe through a hole in his neck for a while as his tongue was swollen from surgery.

As i said, i didn't see your post yesterday, but my advice to you is this: see as many doctors as you can to find out what is wrong because i have been where you are through my brother.

I also said the timing in having your post forwarded to me is odd because last week my brother told me his tonsil and throat is infected and he is again waiting on biopsy reports.

Go and see doctors. Get to the bottom of it because it needs to be sorted out.

Get a biopsy done, Michael.

I don't want to alarm you but after going through this and knowing about it, the only way you'll know for sure is with a biopsy. A couple of minutes and it's done.

If your doctor won't have one done or do it, go to another doctor, and another if that ine refuses.

Stop reading and get to the doctor.

I hope all goes well and that it's nothing.

---------- Post added 04-10-16 at 00:31 ---------- Previous post was 03-10-16 at 22:42 ----------

I was unable to clarify with him on this point, I was asking if he was trying to say his brother had a node or something in his mouth that appeared and dissapeared for years or if he's saying the node stayed and he went back and fourth to doctors about it for years. From what people have said, and even a mental health doctor of mine; cancer does not come and go, it stays and gets worse/grows. Also I would assume that I would be very sick by now, If none of this is true then I'm doomed

[Fishmanpa]

Please do not post on the cancer forums. It's disrespectful to those who are truly suffering and all it will do is feed your fears.

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, It doesn't come and go nor does it stop once it starts.

You have anxiety. That much is certain. You also have HA over oral cancer. That's obvious as well. As an oral cancer survivor, nothing you've posted indicates anything sinister or remotely so.

You clench your jaw, chew and bite your cheeks, consciously or not, you're constantly irritating the lining of your mouth. That's self inflicted trauma not cancer! You can chase a diagnosis that will never come or seek help with the illness you do have... anxiety

Good luck and positive thoughts

[Michael2112]

Thank you for your response I will change the name of the thread, I did'nt mean I was posting on some sort of oral cancer forums, I meant that I was posting my oral cancer topic on various forums. Sorry about that. I was satisfyed with alot of the responses but the one that one guy made was what I was fearing, I should have just got some good info then got off the topic but some sort of personal story that appears to contradict conventianol thinking was a disaster for my condition. According to what he is saying I think is that the only way to know is to biopsy, which I could'nt handle emotionally anyhow. Problem is there is nothing to biopsy at the moment. It gets to the point of it all. The little sack comes and goes. I was just confused on weather he was saying his did the same and it was cancer... That just seems wrong. It must be interperated wrong.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Michael,

Something that sticks out in his story, well a few things:

- He was seen multiple times through that period and never diagnosed with oral cancer. Have they sued the backside off these doctors? That guy seems to not care as there is nothing to indicate any anger at these doctors. Does that seem a bit strange?
- He was treated successfully with antibiotics on a number of occasions. Antibiotics don't treat cancer. So, why did his symptoms fade and the problem go away? If he had oral cancer at that point what impact would they and mouth wash have? Why not just take a sugar pill for all the impact it would have? See what I'm getting at? How does this guy know he even had oral cancer throughout those periods? Did the oncologist confirm this?
- He has the same symptoms again and they are doing a biopsy. This poor guy had surgery to remove the cancer, a very invasive procedure too. Do you think it's reasonable that if similar symptoms presented again that his doctor would be cautious? And this guy is assuming his brother has another infection. Has the doctor said they think it's an infection? If so, are they just being cautious? If not, it's possible the cancer has returned.

So, there are a load of holes in this story for me. I think it's likely he had multiple infections, probably because he was biting his tongue all the time and maybe poor hygiene too (because of the dentist recommending mouthwash), and he later suffered from oral cancer.

Where is the link between the two? There is one and I suspect his brother may not be aware of this or has not considered it. So, how about some real information from our public health service, the NHS? Bare in mind these are the guys who specialists treat most of us over here and are excellent when it comes to cancer treatment which our government throws big money at.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-mouth/Pages/Causes-v2.aspx

The two leading causes of mouth cancer in the UK*are*drinking too much alcohol and smoking.

AND

Other risk factors
Other*risk factors for mouth cancer may*include:
-chewing tobacco or other smokeless tobacco products like snus
-chewing*betel nuts with or without tobacco
-a poor diet
-the*human papilloma virus (HPV)
-poor oral hygiene

On your other thread you worried about HPV but this is what the NHS say:

There is evidence that in rare cases,*certain types of HPV can cause abnormal tissue growth inside the mouth, triggering mouth cancer.

Notice they say RARE?

Cancer Research UK, a leading charity, also state that HPV with oral cancer means a better outlook anyway. AND that oral cancers are rare too.

Now how about the link in this guys case which I think is very likely?

Poor oral hygiene
There is evidence that poor oral hygiene, such as having tooth decay, gum disease, not brushing your teeth regularly and having ill-fitted dentures (false teeth) can increase your risk of mouth cancer.

Isn't it plausible that for whatever reasons he had poor oral hygiene leading to multiple infections, which were successfully treated, but he never corrected the underlying root causes to them which raised his risk factor for oral cancer and he was one of the unlucky ones?

I expect his doctor is being cautious because he is presenting with similar symptoms before and he ended up with oral cancer at some point and they want to rule out a return of that. And isn't the guy assuming he has an infection again? Perhaps he doesn't and it's really a return of the cancer? Unless the doctor has said he believes it's an infection, that's a possibility to me.

I've left that link in to the NHS website because it's a light information site aimed at the public.

The member on here who had posted on both your threads is a cancer survivor, of the type you are currently worrying about, so he has an in-depth understanding through experience. When you've been on here a while you will understand he knows more than anyone on here about cancer and had been an active member of cancer support forums for years so talks to a lot of others. I suggest you trust his opinion.

I agree with Mercime on the other thread about the internet. It's all a question of how you use it. Don't allow your OCD to push you into searching for rare information at the cost of credible info from credible people. You will always find someone out there with an rare story, just think of the people who say they cured their cancers with the power of the mind! Learn about your OCD, learn about your Cognitive Distortions. These CD's will be pushing you to look at cancer and to disregard the more credible. Understand how OCD works and how you can be more savvy with it. This all helped me with my OCD and I think it's important for OCDers in general otherwise you fall into the traps a lot.

On the other thread you mentioned about 5 year mortality rates. That's just how they look at prognosis. There is an 8 month one too. It allows them to understand life expectancy and cure rates. These figures are based on aged data, some of it is really quite old now, and doctors say it isn't reflective of more modern treatments so it's best to listen to the specialists on this. My GF's mum has lung cancer (terminal) and this is what her team have said about it too.

We hear cancer and think the worst. But not all cancers are equal, some are aggressive, some are less so. This is important because it helps you look at your own situation and say "there is no chance I have X because all the advice says I wouldn't be alive today". And remember, those 8 month and 5 year mortality rates include treatment. If you needed chemo and didn't have it, your mortality rate would be substantially lower since those rates are based on treated patients.

As an example of aggressive, I can tell you about my GF's mum. Within 2 months of initial symptoms she was in a wheelchair (after being in hospital and on breathing equipment for weeks) and could just about manage to climb the stairs once a day. She had multiple rounds of chemo, and will do until it no longer works with her prognosis, and she responded well from the first session. Prior to session 4 they x-rayed her and said the cancer had shrunk. This was about 4-5 months since it all starting. Those 8 month mortality rates are very low for terminal lung cancer, even with treatment, yet it's been about a year now.

That's the scary side of cancer. How about the opposite end of the spectrum, and this one is relevant to that guys story? My dad has always worked most days in the sun in his job as a landscape gardener for 40+ years. He retired and a couple of years later developed what looked like a sore on his nose. He tends to pick scabs, just a habit. She picked this one on & off for 2 years but was reluctant to see a doctor as he attributed it to his picking. It changed colour and my mum got him to go to the doctor. He referred him and the consultant said he suspected skin cancer. He had a biopsy which revealed it was a form of skin cancer. The consultant said it was extremely common in people with his work history, and a common form of cancer, BUT that it was highly treatable and cure rates are excellent. He had it whipped off and it's been over 5 years and nothing has come back. This was a slow growing form of cancer according to the consultant, so not an aggressive form. He had this on his nose for a good 2 years. BUT how can we be sure it was cancerous all that time? He was damaging it by picking all the time and it started changing colour eventually. So, was it always skin cancer? Or did he have something else and raised his risk factor due to the constant damage? I'm not sure without checking what the consultant said, it's been so long now and I can't even remember which type of skin cancer it was. BUT the consultant did say it was very slow growing, but very easily treatable.

So, not all cancers are equal. Why is this important to you? Well that guy you mentioned had advanced cancer because our NHS says that's when surgery may include part of the tongue being removed. So, is oral cancer an aggressive cancer? If the answer to that is yes (and Mercime and the above member will know this better) then how could you do years with it?

[Leafers]

If theres "nothing to biopsy at the moment" then theres nothing to be scared of. Fish is right, anxiety messes people up. He wasn't saying it was the same, he was saying it's always safe to be sure, anxiety and cancer forums are two different coins with different heads. Of course they would tell you to go to your doctor, we would too if we didn't already know it was anxiety. It's not saying you have cancer, it's saying do it just to be safe. I have a swollen lymph node under my jaw a bit to the left, I've had it checked numerous times along with several posts on here. I was sure it was cancer, but it's something small as a cavity- a very bad one that needs a root canal done. Goes to show, anything small, Dr. Google will say it's cancer. I don't mean to cause any red flags but googling just the word "esophagus" comes up with cancer and symptoms, seriously just one word, which for hypochondriacs like you and me would cause red flags. You don't have Oral Cancer, the thought of saying you do is rather ridiculous. I don't mean to be rude, trust me I've had ridiculous thoughts during my Lymphoma stage. It's nice to have knowledge about cancers, but the DOCTORS are supposed to have the last word, or even the first word in diagnosis of most cancers. Never has there been a case where cancer has simply come and gone without any treatment, as fish says it's a growth of abnormal cells. Please do, for your health try to seek help for your anxiety.

[Michael2112]

Wow I was not expecting someone to go in such detail when responding, that was a very informative response, I really appretiate the time you took to post that. I read into things to much and my mind will start racing with possibilities based on just a few words, for example in the part of your response where you were quoting facta from the cancer website it mentioned poor oral hygine, unfortunatly being severely depressed for the last few years I am not always practicing the best hygine. To be honest there are days I go without brushing teeth, just too tired and unmotivated. Even when I do, it's usually just once per day. I never would have imagined that could be a potential factor for a terminal illness. I would imagine theres a bunch of little kids and people who do the same for different reasons. I would also try to comfort myself by thinking about things like this, we probably had ways of cleaning teeth back in the day but for millions of years we survived without collgate and toothbrushes, if you got oral cancer from not brushing then how could humanity have come this far. You see how my mind works, always lookin for some reason to belive that there's something I did thats outside of the norm to allow me to have this disease, like I can't check everything off because theres that... i just have to try to keep tellin myself the main point here, It's been five years and I have no issues, nothing growing, no pain, no lumps. I don't even have the sack thing I was talking about. Untill I can treat my anxiety, an issue like this will be on my mind 24/7 racing thoughts. I will have to find things to tell myself all day long to try and combat it. The poor oral hygine thing will be ammunition for the OCD I'm dying thoughts which rule over me. I have medication to start taking like SSRI'S but it's gona be harder to start one with these new anxieties, it's hard for people around me to understand this logic but I would say what's the point of taking meds when I have no future, why start to become happy on these meds when I've got this terminal illness. That's how my thinking is at the moment. I'm trying to come up with a way to rationalize things and get on meds

[ServerError]

Michael, just a quick note on oral hygiene.

Yes, poor oral hygiene is linked to oral cancer. But it's not the only factor. And where bad hygiene plays a part, you're looking at the long term consequences. One thing you could do right now is to say that you'll start taking better care of yourself in this area. Obviously, nothing we can do can completely rule out us ever getting cancer, but it improves our odds.

Looking after your mouth, brush, use mouthwash, consider flossing, see a dentist and eat a good diet, and you'll keep your chances of getting oral cancer low.

[paranoid-viking]

Sorry to make a new thread, I have an active discussion about my oral cancer fears which seem ridiculous, unfortunatly I learned quite a few things that cannot be unlearned I thought I had just a minor issue and the consensious would be that cancer would have made me very sick by now and I would be very aware something was wrong. I cannot post a link to the other thread, the basic point was that I had what my doc called mucous sack on lower gums five years ago, it has come and gone since then with sometimes half a years time before noticing another maybe even a year. I have no other issues and am otherwise fine. I just figures cancer would grow and I would be very ill by now

On another online forum a guy said this, I'm pretty much doomed here
My worst fear was something like this, I knew it was a possibility but decided to post to forums anyway, knowing that there was a good chance to make the issue far worse. I can't go back


Hi Michael.

I didn't see your post yesterday but this one came through to me, although i'm unsure why. It is odd timing, though.

My mother used to suffer with tonsilitis a lot, as did my daughter but hers were removed, but my mother used to always get us to look in her mouth. Gross!! Yes, but interesting.

When i looked in i saw white nodes or lumps, sacs if you will, that were filled with pus, i guess. It was always tonsilitis.

My brother, to my knowledge, has never had tonsilitis. He has always been diligent with his dental care and many, many years ago told me he thought he was brushing his teeth too much or too hard as he had an abcess on the side of his tongue. He asked me to look at it and it looked like a white node as in my mother's mouth only larger and different, kind of like when you bite your tongue and it leaves that white lump.

This happened on and off for years and he'd go to the doctor and be put on antibiotics or told to gargle, he even spoke about it to his dentist. He was told everything from he was biting his tongue, chewing on it during sleep, puncturing it with food; a whole list of things.

One day he happened to show it to a doctor who sent him straight off for a biopsy and it turned out that this abcess that was coming and going for years and years was actually "C".

He had to have part of his tongue removed, learn to speak again and breathe through a hole in his neck for a while as his tongue was swollen from surgery.

As i said, i didn't see your post yesterday, but my advice to you is this: see as many doctors as you can to find out what is wrong because i have been where you are through my brother.

I also said the timing in having your post forwarded to me is odd because last week my brother told me his tonsil and throat is infected and he is again waiting on biopsy reports.

Go and see doctors. Get to the bottom of it because it needs to be sorted out.

Get a biopsy done, Michael.

I don't want to alarm you but after going through this and knowing about it, the only way you'll know for sure is with a biopsy. A couple of minutes and it's done.

If your doctor won't have one done or do it, go to another doctor, and another if that ine refuses.

Stop reading and get to the doctor.

I hope all goes well and that it's nothing.

---------- Post added 04-10-16 at 00:31 ---------- Previous post was 03-10-16 at 22:42 ----------

I was unable to clarify with him on this point, I was asking if he was trying to say his brother had a node or something in his mouth that appeared and dissapeared for years or if he's saying the node stayed and he went back and fourth to doctors about it for years. From what people have said, and even a mental health doctor of mine; cancer does not come and go, it stays and gets worse/grows. Also I would assume that I would be very sick by now, If none of this is true then I'm doomed


My excperience is that if any one with HA posts on cancer forums; all they will get is confirmation bias because; after all; these cancer patients are not doctors or experts; they only remember their own painful story. There was a hypocondriac dropping into a forum for lung cancer who said that he had a heavy cough after mountainbiking; something that is extremely common with heavy exercise and all of themm; yes all; responded that "this could very well be lung cancer and you should see you doc"; well of course he followed the cancer patients advice and wasted the health services time to scan his kungs to find out that every thing was normal and that he did not have cancer of course. So - what does this tell you? Dont visit cancer forums. It is not reliable helath information when all you hear is anecdotical stories from individual patients.

---------- Post added at 13:07 ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 ----------

One thing though - I dont think it is very nice to redistribute negative nightmare stories from cancer patients in full lenght here on NMP. People here have HA and are googling nightmare stories anyway. But in here they try to do the opposite thing.

[Joe Hayes]

That's a tough one. I think yeah the negative stories are not a great thing to share here.

[ServerError]

That's a tough one. I think yeah the negative stories are not a great thing to share here.

Especially this one, which is full of holes and absolutely no help to anybody.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Let's be fair, it's someone worried and asking for opinions on something they have been sent by someone on another non cancer forum. It's not an intentional redistribution and to be honest, the more holes get poked in it perhaps the better in using it as an example to other HA sufferers? Perhaps it will help others work through the questioning they need to do when they are searching out Confirmation Bias seen daily on here?

[Joe Hayes]

Fair points, for sure.

[paranoid-viking]

Let's be fair, it's someone worried and asking for opinions on something they have been sent by someone on another non cancer forum. It's not an intentional redistribution and to be honest, the more holes get poked in it perhaps the better in using it as an example to other HA sufferers? Perhaps it will help others work through the questioning they need to do when they are searching out Confirmation Bias seen daily on here?

I unfortunately believe that some trollers are vicious enough to show up on forum for cancer patients and their families with unrealistic stories. Yes; some people are getting a kick out of other people`s tragedies. Such people should be denied entrance to computers or any device that gets them online. I dont say that the story from that cancer forum is by a troll; but it was enough holes in it to suggest that it was.

[Gary A]

I unfortunately believe that some trollers are vicious enough to show up on forum for cancer patients and their families with unrealistic stories. Yes; some people are getting a kick out of other people`s tragedies. Such people should be denied entrance to computers or any device that gets them online. I dont say that the story from that cancer forum is by a troll; but it was enough holes in it to suggest that it was.

Yeah, I'm calling troll I'm afraid. There is no way on earth that someone could conduct such an idiotic reply full of so much utter nonsense and be relaying an actual story. Encouraging someone to doctor shop, little sparkly coincidences (my brother is waiting for more biopsy results as we speak, hey, you should get a biopsy) :huh:, the hysterical tone, it all points to a troll in my book.

Who has cancer for "years" and it isn't picked up? Especially in such an accessible place as the mouth. Wasn't it growing? Wasn't he losing weight and feeling lethargic? Didn't the dentist notice any changes that cancerous lesions in the mouth would exhibit in his 6 monthly check ups? Absolute tripe!

Terry has done a brilliant job ripping it to shreds, as you can see, this story has more holes than a 100 year old dartboard. I'll bet he never clarified his points because he either exaggerated the story or simply made it up. Trolls are mutants, and they don't care who they hurt or where they do it.

[paranoid-viking]

Yeah, I'm calling troll I'm afraid. There is no way on earth that someone could conduct such an idiotic reply full of so much utter nonsense and be relaying an actual story. Encouraging someone to doctor shop, little sparkly coincidences (my brother is waiting for more biopsy results as we speak, hey, you should get a biopsy) :huh:, the hysterical tone, it all points to a troll in my book.

Who has cancer for "years" and it isn't picked up? Especially in such an accessible place as the mouth. Wasn't it growing? Wasn't he losing weight and feeling lethargic? Didn't the dentist notice any changes that cancerous lesions in the mouth would exhibit in his 6 monthly check ups? Absolute tripe!

Terry has done a brilliant job ripping it to shreds, as you can see, this story has more holes than a 100 year old dartboard. I'll bet he never clarified his points because he either exaggerated the story or simply made it up. Trolls are mutants, and they don't care who they hurt or where they do it.

Some trolls in less serious discussions may be funny but trolling on a cancer board is very distubring and discusting. The OP should complain to the moderator on that cancer board. How can ANYONE find pleasure in this kind of trolling? It is just like schoolyard bullies who could not get enough of their behaviur back in the schooldays and keeps on going with the same thing in adulthood, now online. Bullies who always finds pleasure in terrorising others.

---------- Post added at 16:34 ---------- Previous post was at 16:32 ----------

"I don't want to alarm you but..."

The typical BS from health forum scaremonger trolls. They know very well that this is EXCACTLY what they are doing.

[Mercime]

A suggestion. The offending message has been ripped to pieces, as already said it may be useful for others to scrutinise.

A word (quite a few) about the cancer forum troll/s. Yes, they are twisted, what kick they get out of it, nobody knows. But - as with all illnesses, some with cancer are in a better place than others. They are not all helpless, and too fragile to spot a trolling ar*ewipe, and those in a stronger position will send them on their merry way. There are other illnesses which I won't talk about, but they have the same issues with trolls.
Where's there are Internet forums, there are trolls.
It reiterated the importance of not searching for case studies or stories of tragedy on health forums (what ARE these forums anyway?) but listening to the experts who have assessed and tested you. Yet again, a reminder. Cancer does not sit quietly doing nothing, it does not flare up then go down. It doesn't appear somewhere, disappear and appear somewhere else - it is abnormal cell growth which continues to grow.

Michael - you don't have it.

[KatiePink]

A suggestion. The offending message has been ripped to pieces, as already said it may be useful for others to scrutinise.

A word (quite a few) about the cancer forum troll/s. Yes, they are twisted, what kick they get out of it, nobody knows. But - as with all illnesses, some with cancer are in a better place than others. They are not all helpless, and too fragile to spot a trolling ar*ewipe, and those in a stronger position will send them on their merry way. There are other illnesses which I won't talk about, but they have the same issues with trolls.
Where's there are Internet forums, there are trolls.
It reiterated the importance of not searching for case studies or stories of tragedy on health forums (what ARE these forums anyway?) but listening to the experts who have assessed and tested you. Yet again, a reminder. Cancer does not sit quietly doing nothing, it does not flare up then go down. It doesn't appear somewhere, disappear and appear somewhere else - it is abnormal cell growth which continues to grow.

Michael - you don't have it.


Cancer does not sit quietly doing nothing, it does not flare up then go down. It doesn't appear somewhere, disappear and appear somewhere else - it is abnormal cell growth which continues to grow.

I know this was intended for the poster but wow this helped me, i try and remind myself of this kind of thing when i think i have a tumour somewhere, if something gets better then it's not cancer, thank you Mercime!

[Valencia]

Hey i don't know if somebody has already mentioned it but if you are really worried you can get an oral cancer screeing.. I get a screeing once a year at my dentist. Its a 2 minute exam, zero pain.
Good luck!

[Michael2112]

Wow you guys really are amazing, I was originally going to keep appologizing for doing a poor job of labeling the thread but come to think about it, that may have actually been cancer forums that I made the mistake of posting on. I was originally trying to post on anxiety forums which I used to read on all the time a few years back, well known forums, but they had registration temporaraly disabled. So I just googled anxiety forums, I guess I never cared to look into what exactly they were. This is the crazy part, my dad was telling me last night that guy that posted that was probably just lying and trying to scare me but I was shooting him down and calling him foolish basically, I kept saying why would a person do that to someone. today when I checked the thread, it had been deleted, or it said theres nothing here. It's possible it was moved but I did post it in an anxiety section. Maybe it was deleted because that guy is a notorious troll. The same way an auction site or goods listing sites will inform you by e-mail that you may be getting scamed. That's why I like these forums, you all are very intelligent and seem to all be coming to that conclusion, where as I just believed it because someone said it. I really am very sorry for posting it without thinkig about how a fellow health anxiety sufferer would take it, I kno I certainly don't want to learn anything new about potential health issues, it can only kick off something like I'm going through at the moment. It's like I tell my mental health doctor, please don't tell me anything other than what I'm here for, meds. She has tried to make me feel better before but sometimes makes it worse by me taking things the wrong way, new health info and things to be anxious about. How you say it and the way it's taken by people like us are two different things. The mind will run with things that arent threats at all. I hope no one starts new anxiety from this. I'm truly sorry again. I'm not thinking rationally at the moment. Once that guys story was torn down, all that's left are the responses that make the most sense about cancer not coming and going, and the fact that it would have progressed and I'd be very i'll right now. The positive thing here is that i'm very motivated to start better oral hygine now for sure. You guys are the best