I have a problem that I am deeply concerned about.. My fear is I have oral cancer. This is a recurring problem, the first time about 4 months ago. I went to my primary physcian he referred me to ENT. with inflamed foliate papillae (at least they were to me) that were painful on right side of tongue. My jaws hurt and ached. The ENT said they were just normal tissue..this lasted for about 3-4 wks. Now 4 months later my symptoms have returned. It starts out with sore throat, the dr gave me antibiotics. About 2 weeks later my tongue hurt to move it and It hurts to open my mouth wide. may occur every couple of hours or so. When I looked in the mirror with a flash light the bumps didn't look any bigger, but now they have a white coloring with a flashlight. When I look at them without a flashlight its the same color as my tongue. Like I mentioned they don't seem like they have grown in size looks like more of them. I tried brushing them with a toothbrush and they bled a bit.. but the white is still there.. I made another appt with ENT and would like a biopsy.. but my fears and anxiety about this is driving me nuts..Every picture I see that looks like oral cancer of the tongue, looks like mine. . He looked down my throat and such and said there were no lumps or anything he could find. I was certain since I saw the ENT and he would have noticed something not riight.the first time. And now since I am seeing this again, I am worried. I was a pack a day smoker for 31 yrs. I do not drink, been sober for 10 years.. I am really upset about this.. Can someone shed some light on this for me please.