Can you get oral cancer at 20?

[LG18]

Hi,

I'm getting increasingly worried about a very small spot I have on the roof of my mouth.
It's pretty much invisible to the naked eye, but I can feel it with my finger and my tongue. It's very small, like a pimple.

If feels very hard almost as if it's bone and it doesn't particularly hurt, but my worry is that it's been there for several months, and everything I can't find anything of similarity online - everything that isn't serious seems to disappear within a few week.

I don't smoke, have very good diet and barely every drink, so I would guess my risk should be quite low, but I just don't understand what else it could be; I can't find anything.
I darent go to the doctor for fear of what they say.

I've had fear and obsessions of at least ten different head and neck cancers over the last year and am constantly miserable.
I know I need to just accept the fears to get better, but then what if it isn't actually oral cancer and doing my CBT therapy is just allowing it to grow?

I heard of someone who had a lump for two years before they found out it was cancerous.
Then theres the fact that the roof of my mouth feels asymmetrical in general, with the right hand side feeling slightly convexed and the other more hollow.

Advice?

Thanks

[ServerError]

You can get cancer of any part of your body at any time in your life. That's a sad fact, but it's a fact nonetheless, and we must all learn to live with it.

Oral cancer, however, is relatively rare. It's very much a lifestyle disease, insofar as anyone can get it, but most cases are related to smoking, drinking, diet, lifestyle and oral hygiene. The chances of a 20-year-old who doesn't smoke, who doesn't drink excessively and who looks after their oral health getting oral cancer are extremely low. You'd be horrendously unlucky if you did.

If you're concerned about the lump, get it looked at. But the thing to remember about cancer, regardless of what you've read online, is that once it starts it doesn't stop. So if you're not detecting any growth or change, you almost certainly have nothing to worry about.

[saf138]

Its very likely what you have is something called a Torus palatinus which is just a benign boney protrusion on the hard palate I also have what you are describing on the right side of the hard palate and I saw a Doctor over it last year and he immediately dismissed it as anything sinister. If you are that worried go get it looked at why worry yourself sick that will only set the ball rolling for other anxiety related illnesses to rear its ugly head.

[Fishmanpa]

As server said, anyone can get anything at anytime. That being said, I'm a Stage IV OC survivor. It would be SO INCREDIBLY rare for someone of your age and lifestyle. In fact, on the time I was on the OC boards fro support, the youngest was in their early 40's, was a smoker and had HPV.

Positive thoughts

[LG18]

You can get cancer of any part of your body at any time in your life. That's a sad fact, but it's a fact nonetheless, and we must all learn to live with it.

Oral cancer, however, is relatively rare. It's very much a lifestyle disease, insofar as anyone can get it, but most cases are related to smoking, drinking, diet, lifestyle and oral hygiene. The chances of a 20-year-old who doesn't smoke, who doesn't drink excessively and who looks after their oral health getting oral cancer are extremely low. You'd be horrendously unlucky if you did.

If you're concerned about the lump, get it looked at. But the thing to remember about cancer, regardless of what you've read online, is that once it starts it doesn't stop. So if you're not detecting any growth or change, you almost certainly have nothing to worry about.


Thank you, that was very reassuring. It puts it into perspective.

---------- Post added at 21:23 ---------- Previous post was at 21:21 ----------


Its very likely what you have is something called a Torus palatinus which is just a benign boney protrusion on the hard palate I also have what you are describing on the right side of the hard palate and I saw a Doctor over it last year and he immediately dismissed it as anything sinister. If you are that worried go get it looked at why worry yourself sick that will only set the ball rolling for other anxiety related illnesses to rear its ugly head.

Thanks for the post.

I did actually come across that, but every picture I saw if it showed something very large and visible. As I say, mines about the size of a pimple I'd say, so you had the same thing?

---------- Post added at 21:23 ---------- Previous post was at 21:23 ----------


As server said, anyone can get anything at anytime. That being said, I'm a Stage IV OC survivor. It would be SO INCREDIBLY rare for someone of your age and lifestyle. In fact, on the time I was on the OC boards fro support, the youngest was in their early 40's, was a smoker and had HPV.

Positive thoughts

Thanks for the post, good to hear some rationality. This health anxiety is crippling.