Q. What are the first signs of oral cancer?

Hi doctor,

I have been very worried about my health lately. I would like to preface this by saying that I have been experiencing anxiety off late and I have a suspicion that some of these symptoms could be related to that. I am currently weaning off of Prednisone, which I have been taking for an allergic reaction. I have noticed slight depression and a lot of fatigue as a result. I also quit using smokeless tobacco about 10 days ago, after about nine years of use. I am currently using nicotine patches but, they are very low dose compared to what I was used to. The patches are about 10 mg of nicotine per day. Also, one last thing, about three months ago, my doctor put me on Zantac 150 for acid reflux. I also had an EKG, chest x-rays, and blood tests and everything came back normal. I am not sure if all of this matters but, I just want to be thorough.

Now, over to my main concern. I randomly had an allergic reaction to Advil about a month ago. I had swollen lips and hives. So, my doctor put me on 50 mg Prednisone for five days. This, along with my recent acid reflux diagnosis, had really started to give me anxiety about my health. A few days after I finished the Prednisone, I had a very strange experience in which both of my lips went completely numb. I immediately went to an urgent care center for treatment. The doctor thought that it could be related to the previous allergic reaction and put me back on Prednisone, but this time on a taper such as 60 mg for three days, 40 mg for three days, and 20 mg for three days. The lip numbness faded and only lasted for an hour or two. At this point, I had become very stressed and started wondering if the lip numbness could be related to oral cancer due to my smokeless tobacco use. So the next day, I went to the dentist to get a checkup and an exam. He checked my lymph nodes in the neck area and inspected the insides of my mouth. There were no white patches or lesions or sores or any visual sign of oral cancer.

Through all of this, I had still been experiencing the tingling in the lips which kept me worried. It only happens occasionally and never lasts, which made me think that it could be anxiety. Then, about three days ago I noticed that I would randomly get a feeling of a lump in my throat, which I know can be caused by many things including acid reflux but, oral cancer is also one of them and this made me even more worried. This only lasts for a few hours each time and goes away. In fact I have only noticed it twice. I tend to take a Zantac 150 when I feel it.

What is currently causing me worry is a constant tingling under my chin, in the area in the front of my neck. It is not painful but it is rather uncomfortable. It feels like someone is constantly lightly rubbing a feather against my neck. I am constantly checking my lymph nodes as I am paranoid at this point but, there is no visual sign of swelling. Can this be caused by stress or anxiety? I will say that my mind has been absolutely consumed by the thought of oral cancer over the last couple of weeks. I feel like I may be over-thinking things and causing myself a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety. I have a history of panic attacks and anxiety, although I have never been on medication for it. I do not have any pain in my tooth, mouth, or jaw otherwise. I also recently sent an image of the floor of my mouth to an oral surgeon here because I was paranoid and thought it was whiter than usual, but she said that it was absolutely fine.

Sorry for the long question. I guess I just really want to know if these symptoms I am feeling are something real or just anxiety. As I said, I have been healthy my whole life and these recent problems have been very stressful for me. I would hate to keep bothering my doctors for something that is not even there. Thank you for reading.