Do I have oral cancer?

Dear Ask The Doctor: I am a 23 year old white female. I drink very rarely and have smoked on average 2 cigarettes per day for the past year. I started smoking one year ago and quit smoking last month. The past 2-3 weeks I have noticed a swelling on the inside of my mouth, at the left hand side near the back, on the fleshy part of the mouth. The swelling is red in colour and has one small white blotch on it, which I can scrape off. It is not painful but when I swallow I almost feel like something is caught in my throat. I am absolutely terrified that I may have oral cancer. The rest of my mouth is is normal condition. I would be grateful if you could advise on whether this could be mouth cancer or what else it might be, as I'm obviously quite scared and have started to imagine the worst. Thank you in advance.

Dear Sarah: Without more information or an examination I can only speculate on what the mass might be. The swelling could be an abscess (collection of pus caused by an infection), or a tumor which may or may not be cancerous. i strongly suggest that you see a physician for an examination.