Leukoplakia

Leukoplakia

About April-May of 2008 I had just finished eating a chewable vitamin C when my tongue started to burn. Thinking I had a piece of vitamin C stuck under my tongue I drank some water and the burning stopped. However, for the next several weeks my tongue was very sensitive to rough textured food, or spicy food. I also noticed that there was a white area on the under side of my tongue.
By October of 2008, when I went to my oncologist for my regular check up, I had forgotten about the white spot until he asked if there was anything unusual going on. I told him about the white spot, he looked at it, said it was not precancerous, but we should watch it. He said about the only thing I could do was eat 35,000 to 50,000 IU of Beta Carotene per day, sometimes that would help. He also said it was possible that it was a vitamin C burn, not likely, but possible, and that it did look like a burn.
Knowing that heavy doses of beta carotene in supplement form, was not real good, I ate one 25,000 IU every other day and 50,000 IU every other day. I also ate a great deal of pumpkin, cantaloupe, etc.
In February 2009, I went back to my oncologist for another regular check up; the white spot was still on my tongue. My oncologist told me it was a leukoplakia, and said it was unusual for them to stay on the tongue for as long as it had been on my tongue. (At this time let me say that I have a great deal of respect for my oncologist. I think he is very good and very capable.)
However, I felt I should learn a little more about leukoplakia. Searching WebMD and the Mayo Clinic web site I learned that one should see their dentist with leukoplakia because any rough spot, tooth, filling, etc, could cause a leukoplakia. Removal of the cause would generally cause the leukoplakia to go away in 8-10 weeks. I also learned that depending on what study one was reading, about 3 to 25 percent became cancerous.
I went to my dentist who suggested I see an Oral Surgeon. From my reading on different web sites I knew an Oral Surgeon could remove the leukoplakia with a brush or laser, or he could remove some for a biopsy.
When the Oral Surgeon looked at the leukoplakia the conversation went something like this;
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I think we should get a biopsy.” He answered.
“What does that entail?”
“We cut a small sliver out of your tongue and send it off to get chopped up and see if it is cancerous.”
“But my oncologist has said it is not precancerous.”
“I am not sure of that diagnoses’.” He answered.
“It appears to me that the white spot is not as large or as bright as it was before.” I said.
“It could appear that way, but still not really be the case.” He answered.
“How much will you cut out?”
“About half. It is a painful operation with a long and painful recovery, because it is a muscle that is used all the time.”
I assumed he meant half the spot, not half my tongue. But even this did not make a lot of sense, why take out only half?
“What are the chances of cure, if it is cancer?” I asked.
“Not real good. We have about a 50-60 percent recovery rate.”
It has been decades since I played poker. But the first thought the popped into my head was, ‘If I were playing poker that would be a losing hand.’
He wanted to cut my tongue and he gave himself a little better than 50-50 change of total cure, and this is after a very good oncologist has said, it is not precancerous, eat 35,000 to 50,000 IU of beta carotene per day, maybe it will go away. Further more, statistically, worse case, there was a 75 percent chance that it was not cancer, and would never become cancer! As I have said before, any time a doctor says there is no known cure; he is only expressing the limit of his knowledge. This surgeon apparently only knew how to use a knife; he only had one tool in his arsenal.
I said, “I think I will pass.” I did not say it, but did think, ‘What ever happened to the, do no harm?’
He said, “Well if you do not feel comfortable, that’s OK. But you best move quickly, it could be real bad in six weeks.”
I said, “I have done a lot of research on this, I do not believe you can cure cancer with a knife. All you doctors are the same, if you are a surgeon, you want to cut, if you are a radiologist, you want to burn it out, and it is always, another six weeks you could be in real trouble.”

I wonder how many others have been rushed into surgery.

When I got home my Seven-Day Adventist neighbor asked, “How did it go?”
I told her, and she said, “You know, I was just reading today, that if you have a sore in your mouth, drink Aloe Vera juice.”

Sure beats having some cut happy doctor cutting out my tongue.