Sorry to obsess on it - still trying to figure out what it is (pics)
Yeah i have posted a few times; I noticed this just over a week ago. I should mention that 8 weeks ago, I had lip augmentation with Juviderm. Had many needles injected into my lips between the numbing stuff she injected and the actual filler. So I don't know if this is somehow related to that... maybe scar tissue or a blockage of the glands? I also had a habit of biting my lip in that area and I have a very eye tooth just above it, plus that is the side I sleep on, so who knows if I bit on it while sleeping (probably - I used to bite the side of my cheek alot). So I realize this could be the result of alot of innocent things, however, the worry is taking a toll!
I went to the dentist the day after I discovered it last week but forgot to tell him I had the Juviderm so he didn't know about that. I was too freaked out thinking I must have oral cancer and forgot to mention all the injections I had in that area. He thought it might be a virus and wanted me to come back in 2 weeks to check again - my appt for the re-check is tomorrow and the lump has not really changed. It may have gotten slightly smaller and harder. It is smaller in the morning before I eat anything and by the end of the day it is slightly larger and whiter, but it doesn't vary a whole lot. Sometimes it seems more flesh colored than white. I have the one shown in the picture and one more similar to it just below the first one.
When I run my tongue over it, it feels smooth and hard. I posted a picture before but it was taken with my phone, so I figured I would take some more with a camera. I cannot find anything on google images that resembles this type of bump! And most of the Mucocele I see here are much larger and look different than mine, so I don't think it's that.
My dentist said he would probably refer me to an oral surgeon if the bump had not gone away by my follow up, so I think he will do that tomorrow unless it miraculously goes away overnight. When I asked point blank if it looked like cancer he said "it's not cancer". But I have a hard time believing him! Has anyone had this type of little bump before? I am not a smoker or a drinker but my risk factor for oral cancer would be that I had a gential HPV infection (but have since had clean pap smears showing the HPV is gone for now). With HPV being a risk factor for oral cancer, I'm very very nervous.
When I google oral cancer pictures, I don't even find anything that looks like this - they all look like big patchy spots or really severe looking, corroded areas. But when I google symptoms of oral cancer it mentions a small white bump as being a symptom... so I am really confused. I know I just need to wait until tomorrow and possibly longer because my appt with the oral surgeon (I made one anticipating that it would not go away and the dentist would refer me, so glad I did) is Thursday.
If anyone has had this or has any clue what it is, PLEASE let me know. My 10 year old caught me looking at it in the mirror and claims she's had the same thing (she has braces and has had irriations from it, but she never pointed one out to me) and they go away on their own after a few weeks. That leads me to believe maybe this is a result of the injections since I had trauma to the area and if my daughter had the same thing, it would have been caused my all the invasive stuff they do to get the braces in her mouth.
Also, my bump is painless, not bothersome at all except mentally, LOL! Again if anyone can suggest what it might be I would really appreciate it. I am attaching three pictures in hopes of someone being able to identify for me what it might be.
Well I did not find answers here, but I did have my appt with the oral surgeon yesterday. He agreed with my dentist that it's a fibroma - likely brought on my cosmetic lip augmentation (Juviderm filler) that I had done 8 weeks ago. He could tell I was freaked out about it being cancer an his exact words were "oral cancer is big and it's ugly - i wouldn't lose any sleep over this". He said I could remove it or leave it. When I prodded him, he admitted that there is always that remote chance a lesion such as this "could" turn pre-cancerous or cancerous down the road. I am not clear on whether it has any chance of going away on its own. He seemed inclined to do nothing but my anxiety level being high, I asked if it could be removed. He said yes, and that removing it was no big deal, local anesthetic and possibly one stitch. He could not guarantee it would not come back :(
I set up an appointment for next month to have it removed. The advantage I see to having it removed is that they will biopsy it to make sure 100% it is not already pre-cancerous (again, very remote chance of that). I would not mind having my mind put at ease though!
Here's the thing. I came home and told my best friend about it, she is a psychiatrist and her husband is an internist. They think it's ridiculous that I'm having "surgery" to have it removed. My friend said "sure he's open to having you remove it, that's how they make the big money". And it's true, the cost is $500 for what is likely a 20 minute procedure... my insurance will pick up about 80% of it, so it's not free for me, I have to pay about $100. My friend and husband both think I should leave it alone and that having it removed it overkill. Yeah they are doctors but I'm not quite sure they understand that by leaving it, I am still at risk for it turning into cancer later on. My friend said "yes but you can always have it removed if you notices any changes or it starts to look bad". But by that time, it's further along and possibly harder to treat. She just thought having it removed was silly. She called the fibroma an "irritation" but my understanding is that it's a build up of scar tissue from the needles and also from biting my lip.
So now I'm confused, do I have it removed or leave it? I still see now downside to removing it other than my time and my $100. Any thoughts?
