Tongue

[thegreylady]

I don't really know what I am expecting here but I poted on ballofworry's thread and feel I ought to stop hijacking.
I know no one can help me except a doctor and a specialist at that but I hope you'll bear with me and give me your experiences/thoughts.
About 5 weeks ago I noticed a little lesion on my tongue, as though a crumb was caught. It didn't go so on 18th August I saw my dentist who thought it was probably nothing but she should refer me to be sure. Because of having had breast cancer 8 years ago I get extremely anxious about any possibility of cancer anywhere so she made it an 'urgent' appointment. I still have nothing from the hospital.
Last Friday, having googled, I became so panic stricken that I saw my GP who said he was 90% sure it was nothing but agreed it needed to be seen. Yesterday I rang the dentist again. She checked with the hospital who still hadn't made an appointment for me. I asked about a private appointment and have been told I can be seen within a week so I am now waiting for that appointment.
Last night I couldn't sleep so, having looked at my tongue in the mirror I googled again. I have been sick, have diarrhoea and am cold with terror.
The side of the tongue at the back is the commonest site for oral cancer. That is exactly where mine is. Originally mine looked like a bite mark, then like a pimple with a swelling behind it and now like a swelling with a dip in it. It has no whiteness and it isn't painful. I am aware of it constantly. I dare not google again so I don't even know if it could possibly be anything benign.
I wonder if I could ask some of you to google for me and tell me if you can find anything at all other than cancer for a few weeks old red swelling on the side of the tongue. Thank you.

It all depends on tomorrow. If I am ok I will be fine until the next time. I am lucky to have a very very supportive dh but he is 78 and not in great health himself. I also have a lovely dd (who is paying for me to have the private appt) and a son in Turkey and 2 lovely stepsons. I have no siblings but I get on well with my cousins and I have one very close friend.
Only dh has any idea how I feel . I did talk to dd early on but I don't want her to worry too much about me so I pretended I was better about it all.
My acupuncturist knows though. This thread is a life line though. I can tell it like it is here.

I think you should tell one of them how you feel and think about asking gp
for referral. Otherwise every pimple could turn into an episode of acute anxiety x

What POI says makes a lot of sense, the worry and anxiety in themselves are not good for you.

If your close friend was going through this you would want her to talk to you about it.

Hope you sleep well tonight and have a good day tomorrow.

We'll all be thinking of you tomorrow evening

Thank you so much. I will of course report back tomorrow night come what may or 'Kumquat May' as a dear friend used to say as in:"Kumquat May I'll always love you." Maybe I should change my user name :)

Alls well. It is a lingual tonsil!

PomPoms!

Fireworks!

So pleased.

Hope you have a good celebration

I love 'Kumquat May'

That's great news!

Well we are all saying fabulous but what exactly is a lingual tonsil?

I'm saying fabulous because 'all is well'.

A lingual tonsil is obviously minor, easily dealt with and no cause for concern.

It's good news Katy

Brilliant but tell us more! So pleased you can now relax & enjoy your time in Turkey...

Apparently we all have two 'lingual tonsils' at the back of our tongues, sort of fleshy lumps. They can get infected or enlarged and swollen. They can even very rarely become cancerous. The man I saw was the 'head and neck cancer specialist' his words. He told me he was the right person to tell me quickly what was going on. He examined both sides of my tongue, insisted dh looked too and said there was a little bit of scar tissue from when I bit my tongue but my mouth was 'clean and healthy'. He also said he could biopsy if I wanted him to but he saw no clinical indication to do that. He wants a follow up appt in 4 weeks when he will discharge me if all is well.

Great news, very pleased for you