Of course oral cancer fear fuels up on a Friday night

[Worrywart84]

Thank you both for talking me down. I know “reassurance” is a short lived feeling but at least it helps temporarily and I guess I can always just keep re-reading it.

So does OC grow fast? I was having a hard time finding the growth rate so I didn’t know if the “been there since June” was to my advantage or disadvantage if you know what I mean.

Either of you know anything about how long Erythroplakia lingers around before it grows and/or becomes cancerous?

[Fishmanpa]

Are you doing anything to treat your anxiety?

Positive thoughts

[Worrywart84]

I did start to read that free ebook link I saw you post for someone else...working on it :/

Hard to do “mid-panic” though once my mind is so far down this path. Almost think I need to start in between health anxieties (ha—this window of time seems nonexistent these days.)

[AMomentofClarity]

I did start to read that free ebook link I saw you post for someone else...working on it :/

Hard to do “mid-panic” though once my mind is so far down this path. Almost think I need to start in between health anxieties (ha—this window of time seems nonexistent these days.)

Sounds like you’d be a perfect candidate for medication

[Worrywart84]

Yeah I’ve considered it eventually but for the last 4 years I’ve been either pregnant or breastfeeding and I just don’t feel comfortable taking anxiety meds during that (health anxiety worries of course!)

[Worrywart84]

Just had my appointment at the oral surgeon’s...he was confident that this is not cancer, but is in fact, the autoimmune disorder oral lichen planus. I said I read that that carries an increased risk of cancer and he said that was from a study over 25 years ago and not to put too much stake into that. He gave me a steroid cream to use if this spot hurts me but I told him I am still breastfeeding and likely wouldn’t use it now and he said that’s fine and I could keep it for a rainy day if it ever flares.

Just wanted to update for anyone searching this thread later on.

[AMomentofClarity]

Just had my appointment at the oral surgeon’s...he was confident that this is not cancer, but is in fact, the autoimmune disorder oral lichen planus. I said I read that that carries an increased risk of cancer and he said that was from a study over 25 years ago and not to put too much stake into that. He gave me a steroid cream to use if this spot hurts me but I told him I am still breastfeeding and likely wouldn’t use it now and he said that’s fine and I could keep it for a rainy day if it ever flares.

Just wanted to update for anyone searching this thread later on.

Great news all in all. Sounds like you can rest easy and use the treatment as needed.

[Worrywart84]

So here I am again, battling with the “cancer” angle of this diagnosis.

So basically this lovely autoimmune disorder I got diagnosed with on Tuesday is considered a premalignant condition by the World Health Organization and between 1-5% of people with it go on to get oral cancer. It’s controversial if there is truly a link and more studies are needed apparently but basically I may have an increased risk of oral cancer because of this. So now I’m dwelling on that increased risk and feeling like I’ll for sure be in the 1-5%.

I don’t use any tobacco products and I drink in moderation (glass of wine at dinner, 2 beers at a party kind of drinking), but stuff I’m reading is saying to avoid alcohol b/c it will further increase my risk. So now I’m like terrified to ever have a glass of wine again. The oral surgeon who diagnosed me never mentioned eliminating alcohol, and in fact he was skeptical of the cancer link entirely. Now I’m not sure who to believe.

I feel like I am just marching toward an oral cancer diagnosis in my future. And stuff I am reading is saying basically by the time it’s discovered it’s usually in the advanced stage so I feel like I can’t even stay ahead of it if I tried even with 6 month checkups.

So long story short, while I got relief from my fear of currently having oral cancer, I now feel like I inevitably will get it in the future and that’s freaking me out.

[Worrywart84]

So I’ve posted a couple times about my oral cancer fear. It’s flaring again hard.

I’ve been seen by my dentist twice and an oral surgeon—the oral surgeon visit last week confirmed the “gash” is caused by an autoimmune disorder (likely triggered by stress..lolllolll) that can cause red sores in the mouth. It’s called Oral Lichen Planus. I would be satisfied with this finding (he said he was confident by appearance alone and didn’t think a biopsy was necessary or worthwhile being as though the treatment the same—do nothing or do a topical steroid if it bothers me)...but 2% of people with OLP end up getting oral cancer. Although 2% seems low, it’s significantly higher than the average population.

So since this finding, my jaw and ear throb and ache all day long, and my cheek and gums sting. Like are you kidding me—-this sets in AFTER my appt? So my HA brain spirals and says “this is the onset of your oral cancer!” Or “they missed it and you’ve had oral cancer all along!”

Here’s what I’m doing to not spiral—

-remind myself that oral cancer at age 34 is rare.
-remind myself that the spot has been there since June with no changes.
-remind myself that I’ve had periodic flare ups of jaw/ear pain for a decade, likely TMJ and it tends to last awhile.
-remind myself that between the first visit to the dentist and the second which was 2.5 months I felt no pain or discomfort and literally forgot about this and then the pain set it at the cleaning visit when I discovered the gash was still there and it has continued since then and has increased only AFTER the oral surgeon appt—psychosomatic? Is that really possible?
-telling myself not to Google anything.

But I’m tempted to call and demand another appt or a second opinion or a CT scan of my face or something.

[venusbluejeans]

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Emmz