Tongue Lesion

[Allen16]

My wife has had a tongue lesion or ulcer for approx. 7 years.  We have seen a doctor about this several times but up until now has refused to go for further tests with a ENT Doctor.  The doctors did not think it was cancer but were afraid itcould turn into oral cancer. She went to the dr. yesterday for a unrelated problem and he referred her to another ENT.  I didn't give her a choice this time and we have an appt. in two weeks.

Sore is on the middle top side of the tongue.  Right under her the back edge of her top dental plate.  The tongue bleeds at times, and acts up (swells, turns red) with certain spicey foods.   Much of the time it isn't sore but is always ulcerated.  Very little white around the sore.

Brief History:

She had gall bladder surgery two years ago and was shown to be low in pottasium.
In the past she has had Anemia, and with her diet she may still be.
She suffers from GERD and is on medication for this.
She has always had bad teeth, and had to get dentures at a fairly young age.
The dentures she has are held in place with posts that were inserted in her bones.
She gets sores occasionally on the corners of her mouth.  They tend to heal and come back.
She is pale.
She smokes.
She has been asked by several doctors including the one yesterday if she was bulimic.  Even though he said her weight for her height is perfect.  
One doctor pulled me to the side and asked me about this.  Stating the stomach acid could be a contributing factor to her early tooth loss, her tongue and mouth sores, and her weight. She is not bulimic and if anything just the opposite.  Until the past few years she was upset that she couldn't gain weight.  


My suspicion with her tongue sore was always due to a vitamin defeciency and/or her upper denture plate.  The ulcer is about quarter size.



I don't think I will be able to sleep until we see the ENT and I kick myself for not "making" her follow up with an ENT specialist earlier.  Isn't oral cancer fast growing?  

[tmv]

My sister and I have what is called a geographic tongue. Sounds a little like what you are describing. Spicy foods, acidic drinks/foods, and even salt makes it burn real bad. Google it and click on the one from the mayoclinic.com and it shows a picture. This may help you but I feel your fear as smokers can get a lot of health issues. My dr thought that b vitamins may be deficient?? I haven't been able to find out much because mine is pretty well controlled. It's not cancerous if that is what it is. Hope this helps some.

[Allen16]

tmv thanks for the info.  Does your tongue ulcers move around?  Which the say is a sympton of GT.  My wifes is always in the same place.  Her tongue looks closer to a bad case of GT then any of the pictures of Tongue Cancer, but like I said hers hasn't moved or caused problems in any other parts of her mouth or tongue.  The ulcer or lesion is about the size of a quarter but more oval than round.

Chocolate, citrus, and spicy foods seem to be the worst about causing flare ups.  Also when it is at its worst both lymph nodes under her jaw will swell, and the ulcer on her tongue will become blood red, without any actual blood (looks bloody but is not).  The areas around the ulcer or lesion are also "bald" looking, which looks similar to GT.

[tmv]

My ulcers do tend to move around, although I most often get them on the same side(my right). I have found that antacids like mylanta left in the mouth and swooshed a while seem to help with the pain. Even saliva tends to irritate it at times of flare-ups. Where is her lesion at?  What seems to help her? Best wishes, tmv

[tmv]

Oops, sorry, I forgot that you stated where her lesion was. I had suspicians that an overly acid stomach would make mine worse, but that may be from the type of food I ate???? Maybe check with the pharmacist to make sure it's ok with other meds, but otc zantac (ranitidine) would be worth a try in a severe case. Another question is when did this start? was it close to when she got her new teeth that are screwed into the bones of the jaw? Oh, I feel so bad for her. Let us know how the dr appt goes, ok?

[Allen16]

Thanks tmv, will keep you updated.  

It did start right after she got her dentures.  At first she thought she burned her tongue on something, that was what it looked like and how it felt.

[Allen16]

Made an appt. with another ENT doctor on Monday.  Saw him today.  He had strong feelings that this was not cancer.  He did a biopsy so we will find out for sure on Monday.

[tmv]

Fantastic, glad to hear you got to see the dr. Hope a lot of fears will be relieved! tmv

[cloud 7]

Did you get the results of the biopsy? Is she ok?