Hard palate cancer -right out of the blue. [Archive]

AnxiousJamie

30-06-18, 18:35

I spend my days worrying about this or that but most of the time it’s pretty controlled. I have the occasional flare of irrational fear. For the past month or maybe longer I have had a spot that comes up on my hard palate. It’s not painful. It feels like a pimple almost. It comes up for a few days and then it disappears for a few days, only to return. It wasn’t on my radar as worrisome until last night for whatever reason. So I took a picture of it and sent it to my friend who’s a gp. She said it didn’t look scary but that she would send it to her friend that’s an ENT. So the ENT sent back that she sees these routinely and always biopsies them bc oral cancer and hpv is on the rise even in young people. I’m 36. She said bc it keeps coming back I need to have it biopsied. I am terrified!! Of course it’s Saturday and I don’t know when I’ll be able to be seen by an ENT or and oral surgeon. I’ll have to start calling first thing Monday morning. This is totally out of left field. I wasn’t even worried about this, thinking it was some kind of salivary gland block or something. I am in tears with fear!!

Ryzinn

30-06-18, 19:04

I have a bump on the right hand side of my hard palate, right where it meets the soft palate. Again it is off center and to the right. Feels like a BB or a hard pea. I showed my dentist, dr, and an ENT and they all dismissed it as a bone. I'm doing my best to believe them that it is indeed nothing serious but it showed up out of the blue over a month ago and hasn't gone away. It hasn't really gotten any bigger either but it still makes me nervous.

The fact that yours is coming and going is probably a good sign. Could be a mucocele or an inflamed gland of some sort. Is it hard to the touch? Does it move at all?

NervUs

30-06-18, 19:14

I know it's really awful to be sent for biopsy when you have HA. I have had to go through the biopsy game more times than I can count-- mostly for skin bumps but also a breast lump and persistent lymph node.

Even though it is scary as poo and time suspends during the wait, it is what you need to do for yourself. Most of the time, the biopsy will show benign results and hooray, life goes on. In a minority of times, it will be something that person has to deal with, and so they do. And that will be the casse for you, too.

It's nice to be able to NOT worry during a biopsy process, but that is not always realistic for us on this board. I remember reading most people get stressed by biopsies- the studies suggest that it causes as much stress as actually getting a diagnosis. Whether it should be that way is one thing, but I hope it all goes quickly and you get great news in a short amount of time.

AnxiousJamie

30-06-18, 20:31

Thank you for the reply. It’s not movable, per se, but I can kinda flatten it out if that makes sense. It’s not hard. I think I’ve scraped it before and that made it go away for a little while but now I can’t be sure. I know I’ve at least had it one month but it could be longer as I was not too worried about it (crazy). It’s mid way on my hard palate to the right of midline. What’s so frustrating is I went to the dentist at the beginning of this month for regular check up and I had it then but said nothing bc I wasn’t concerned. I guess feeling it again last night and realizing I’ve had it off and on for a month is what’s scaring me. It’s also what made that ENT say that I needed a biopsy. How long do results take? I’m going to call all around Monday morning until I can get in somewhere ASAP.

Fishmanpa

30-06-18, 21:03

Seeing your post reinforces my belief that the forum triggers trends. People read, self examine or Google and bingo! There have been several bumps on the palate threads in the last week or so. Same as the rabies and other types of threads go. Definitely a pattern to it.

Positive thoughts

AnxiousJamie

30-06-18, 21:16

I promise fishman I haven’t seen any palate posts. I even searched here first before I posted and didn’t get a hit on too many. I was ready to dismiss this as a mucocele or something benign until the ENT said I needed it biopsied!

wilky44

01-07-18, 00:23

Cancer doesn't "disappear for a few days"

AnxiousJamie

01-07-18, 02:57

I’m not sure it totally disappears. I just know that I can’t really feel it sometimes and then it will pop back up and I’ll feel it again. It’s possible that it’s always there just in a flattened out state that’s hard to differentiate from the surrounding tissue. Like right now I can still feel it but it feels smaller than last night. And I could get it in a picture last night but tonight when I take a picture, it doesn’t show up. I can feel it with my tongue so I know it’s still there right now it’s just not as big right now. So I would definitely say it fluctuates in size.

AussieWorrier

01-07-18, 13:29

Doctors want to biopsy everything to cover their backs ... it's stressful for you of course but just stay calm it's probably nothing , if you don't smoke it's highly unlikely to be anything serious

AnxiousJamie

01-07-18, 22:47

I smoked for about 2-3 years while I was in college about 13 years ago. That’s what’s got me a little worried too.

z_seroz

02-07-18, 10:01

I have the exact same thing on the right side on my palate. It's kind of white colored and I try picking it off and it gets flat then comes back. I'm scared if it's a slow growing cancer. I also have a rock hard lymph node behind my jaw bone and another rock hard lymph node on the back of my head. It's been this way since 7 months.

AnxiousJamie

02-07-18, 18:59

I have an appt with an oral surgeon in about an hour. I’m so worked up, I can’t stand it.

AnxiousJamie

03-07-18, 00:38

I had a biopsy. The dr said he was 95% sure it was benign but had no way of totally knowing without the biopsy. So I had it done, my mouth is a little sore, and I have to wait until next Wednesday for the results. The dr did make me feel a little bit better but I won’t feel absolutely better until the results come back.

AnxiousJamie

04-07-18, 20:21

I am having such a hard time with the waiting for the biopsy results.I am trying to avoid the compulsion to google. I haven’t but I want to look at pictures of other people’s palate growths to see if I can find one that looks like mine. Before I could never find any that looked like mine. I keep trying to repeat the fact that the dr is 95% sure it’s nothing. But then he told me he couldn’t tell me exactly what it was without a biopsy. So in essence, he has no idea what it is, so how can he be so sure it’s not bad. It’s really just his educated guess. I don’t know how I’ll be able to wait another whole week!!

NotCool

04-07-18, 20:40

I have to go get a biopsy in a few months because I have had a growth on the side of my tongue for 10 months. I can feel it burning a bit. I'm also terrified and just want to get it over with. I hope your biopsy is at least sooner than mine.

AnxiousJamie

05-07-18, 20:25

There’s been a development. I now have a new lump on my hard palate in a completely different location from where I had my biopsy. It’s about the size of a pea and it’s tender. If it were close to the biopsy site, I would maybe think it was from trauma but it’s not close to the site. My swelling from my biopsy is almost gone so of course I’m panicking. What is this new palatial swelling. I’m afraid the biopsy has agitated the cancer and now it’s spreading like crazy!

AMomentofClarity

05-07-18, 21:29

There’s been a development. I now have a new lump on my hard palate in a completely different location from where I had my biopsy. It’s about the six of a Lea and it’s tender. If it were close to the biopsy site, I would maybe think it was from trauma but it’s not close to the site. My swelling from my biopsy is almost gone so of course I’m panicking. What is this new palatial swelling. I’m afraid the biopsy has agitated the cancer and now it’s spreading like crazy!

First of all I don’t think it would happen that quickly. Secondly, an experienced oral surgeon is probably not going to take a biopsy in a way that will cause cancer to spread.

AnxiousJamie

06-07-18, 03:03

NervUs

06-07-18, 03:14

This is the worst I’ve ever been. I’m having to take Ativan just to function right now. I have to wait 6 more days for results. That feels like eternity. I’m not even sure why I’m posting here. I’m really just looking for support. This second painful lump is making me out of control. I know anxiety can cause a lot of things but it can’t make a physical bump on your palate. There is no explanation for the new growth except something horrible.

I am so sorry. I can imagine how worked up this could get someone waiting on biopsy results.

It is fully possible that you just have an infection and that is what caused a second bump to pop up. It's also possible stress did this. I get so many little bumps all over, in the weirdest places, when I am in a HA spiral (and actually for weeks or months after I feel calm). This shite is hard on us!!!

I had to get a breast biopsy and some time later I developed a lump in the internal scar path and it ended up being a benign node...so...these things happen.

I know the wait is torture, but you will know soon enough and there is no sense speculating why there is a second bump b/c you just won't know. Resist google if you can, take what you need to take, and cry if you need to. Sometimes, just letting yourself worry makes the worry subside. You know you have a 6 day wait and there is an endpoint, and if you aren't total gracious for 6 days, who cares? So sorry, I know exactly how this feels!

AnxiousJamie

06-07-18, 07:04

Nervus, THANK YOU! This made me cry. This is the support i was looking for. I appreciate all that you said. I’m scared and definitely not being rational right now. But I feel like anyone, even those without HA, would be anxious waiting on these results. Thank you so much for letting me vent and thank you for the kind words.

Ryzinn

06-07-18, 08:05

I've been following this thread since you started it. I have also had a bump on my hard palate for over a month now and my ENT said it was most likely a bone which has helped to put me at ease. That being said, I'm still a bit worried about my own bump. It's not coming and going like yours per se, it's just hard, painless, and deep. Doesn't move or nothing. Convinced it was cancer only to be told by 4 seperate doctors (including a dentist) it was nothing to worry about..

Yet I still worry about it lol. I'm interested to hear your results. I hope they're good! The fact that yours is coming and going means its probably nothing. Was it painful at all? What did it feel like? Could you see it with the naked eye?

As for your second bump, I wouldn't worry about that one at all. Cancer doesn't spread that quickly and it is most likely stress or trauma related from the biopsy. Even if it isn't in the exact same spot.

Howanxious

06-07-18, 08:36

Hi there! I can feel how hard it's the situation you're going through but you're not alone! Many of us have been there before, panicking over something that really scared us, waiting entire days for a response without sleep and even eat. I know how you feel, oral cancer was one of my biggest fears last year and I almost knew that I was going to die because of it. But I'm here, after all everything has been always in my head, just in my brain, where nothing seems to be absolute and everything it's relative. I'm still strugling with my HA sometimes, but let me tell you something that I've learnt the bad way: always trust your doctors. Yes, that simple and that hard, but just trust. Ask for a second or third opinion if you want and then TRUST because they know what they're doing. You'll be okay, stay strong and wait for good news because you're gonna have them! Keep us updated.

AnxiousJamie

06-07-18, 12:15

Thank y’all so much. You have all made me feel more at ease. The second bump may actually feel a smidge smaller this morning, so hopefully it was just trauma related. I have never been in such a situation before.

Ryzinn, my first spot was visible to the eye. It looked like a small pimple, a little white dot. It would get bigger and then would get smaller and then bigger. It never hurt. It’s completely gone now from the biopsy. My second bump cam up yesterday on the front of palate on the opposite side and it was rock hard and tender when touched. This morning it’s still there and hard but I don’t think it’s as big.

AnxiousJamie

09-07-18, 21:49

How do people wait for weeks for results? This has been the worst week thinking about all the what if’s. I’m supposed to get the results on Wednesday, although they said if the results come sooner, they’ll work me in bc they know I’m anxious. The second bump is still there but it is smaller. It’s about the size of a bb and seems deeper now and harder to feel than previously. Who knows what that is but of course I can only imagine. My biopsy spot is hardly sore anymore and seems to be closing nicely. I just can’t hardly stand to wait much longer. I’m so afraid.

Ryzinn

10-07-18, 02:30

No news is good news. Thats the rule of thumb. If it was super serious you would've heard something by now.

You're almost there. Just try to keep busy.

AnxiousJamie

10-07-18, 03:40

Thank you Ryzinn. I will definitely post here with the results. Fingers crossed everything is ok. I’m a nervous wreck but it feels better to vent here a little bit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

AnxiousJamie

10-07-18, 20:11

My pathology came back. Comment said no malignancy is observed, suggestive of a duct blockage phenomenon with the presence of incipient sialolith at the base of the specimen as well as a large dilated salivary duct. So basically it was a salivary duct blockage with inflammation and mucus cyst. No cancer. So when the internet says that your can’t have mucoceles on your hard palate, well that’s not true. Another lie from Dr. Google. Thanks again for all the support.

LouiseAndy

10-07-18, 20:29

That's amazing news! :D

Fishmanpa

10-07-18, 20:30