Hi,
I have been told that if it is oral tongue cancer it will not be HPV, but mine was checked for that anyway, and found to be negative, at the first medical center I was at.

I hope you don't wait until your regular check-up to ask for the referral to a PT, unless the appointment is very soon.

Regarding what caused your cancer, it is unlikely you will ever know for certain. Some of us have histories that include irritation of some sort in the mouth. That could have set us up for problems, but that may not be the only cause. I have read that lowered immunity can be a cause for oral cancer. I always thought my immunity was really good, but the summer my cancer symptoms appeared I also had poison ivy, not once but twice. And I, like others in my family, had not gotten it before, despite I am sure being around it. I also got an infection in my eye from a contact, never had that happened before. I also had an apthous lesion (canker sore) on my tongue, I thought. One ENT I consulted told me that apthous lesions do not turn into squamous cell carcinoma, but they could be irritants. So, go figure. Maybe, maybe, and maybe . . .

What we can do is go forward from here.

Best,
Anne