White patches in mouth

[ottawa1gtb]

I chew tobacco. My symptoms are painless white patches (sometimes accompanied with redness) usually in areas I chew at inner lip. The white patches(redness) come and go. If I stop chewing in that one spot it goes away. I have feeling that I need to swallow, like I have peice of food in throat, that come and goes. A bad taste in my mouth. The white patches do not scrape off but sometimes it can be scraped away when few days have passed. I am worried its cancer. I intend to quit chewing tomorrow with the help of nicotine gum. My habit isnt huge, about 1 can a week. I just hope I have made the decision to quit in time before cancer has begun. Any feed back about sypmtoms would be appreciated. I have doctors appt in 5 days.

[ottawa1gtb]

Thank you. I have a appointment tomorrow 10/11/12. Wish me luck!

[Arti Sharma, M.D.]

Hi there,
I can confirm the exact cause of your symptoms only after a complete medical history and clinical examination. The commonest cause of white patches in mouth is lichen planus.There are white lacy patches on gums, tongue, palate and other parts of mouth. In leucoplakia there is excessive growth of cells in the mouth with white patches. Smoking and tobacco chewing increase risk of developing leucoplakia.Fungal infections like candidiasis, syphilis can lead to white patches in the mouth. Stay away from alcohol. Get it seen by a doctor. I hope it helps.
Best luck and regards!