leukoplakia

armana

I am a 7 1/2 year survivor of Tonsillar cancer positive for the HPV virus.

I finished 6 weeks of radiation and have been cancer-free ever since.

The only side effect of the treatment is some dry mouth which is very manageable.

I decided to get an appointment with my ENT just to follow up and he noticed a couple of white patches on both cheeks. He is not concerned but wants me to get a biopsy to ensure it is not pre-cancerous.

Has anybody else had experience with this?

armana

ProustLover

Hi Armana - I just mentioned in a comment to lilybean that not many folks on this forum have leukoplakia stories. You can check out my profile for our long leukoplakia / tongue cancer story. Bottom line, you should definitely get any suspicious white patches checked out with a biopsy. Odds are good that it will be fine, as the majority of leukoplakias do not become cancerous and resolve on their own. Good luck, and try to relax as you await the results.

armana

Thank you for your response

katlou

Armana,

I would definitely get this checked out. I had a white patch under my tongue for several years and had it biopsied a few times and each time it showed no cancer. The last time I had it biopsied I decided to have the entire patch removed and this time there was a small cancer found, HPV negative. I was very lucky that the cancer was found early because the cancer was entirely removed with the biopsy but I decided to have a wide resection done to make sure I had large enough clear margins. I didn't require any further treatment. This all happened the end of 2017 and I have been cancer free since. Sometimes these white patches do turn into cancer.

armana

Thank you for your response. I am waiting to get scheduled for a biopsy.