I am new here. I am a very worried mom because yesterday my son found a lump under his tongue with a white spot on it--he is 48, a heavy smoker/drinker. he intends to go to the dr tomorrow but I am so skeptical of them as they seem to dismiss so many of us and am afraid this will happen with him. so I am trying to find some people who have went through this scary time and will share their experiences with me, give him advise(yes stop smoking/drinking, I realize that) but I mean advise on weather any of you have ever discovered lumps under your tongue. I hope I can get a reply today. I am so upset that this might be cancer, there is family history of all kinds of cancer in my large family

HI. My father had a lump under his tongue for a while, which we now know was restricting tongue movement and causing him difficulty swallowing. Unfortunately he waited until he discovered a lump in the left side of his neck that wouldn't go away. We found out 3 weeks ago,(seems like months), that he has oral cancer in the floor of his mouth, stage 3, and it has spread to his lymphnodes in his neck. He will be starting treatment in the next two weeks. He has been a heavy smoker for many years and also an alcoholic up until 12 years ago. The oncologist told him that the smoking and the drinking both played a part in this.

That said, my point is, the most important thing your son can do is get it looked at. An ENT did a biopsy on my Dad. We knew that afternoon. Time is crucial, as everyone on this board has told me.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Tabitha
Father diagnosed w/Stage 3 Oral Cancer 2/19/03
Treatment yet to begin...

Hi
My husband as base of tongue cancer which was mis diagnosed for a year please tell your son to go to a good ENT specialist and insist on a biopsy. Hope all goes well. My husband quit drinking 20 yrs ago .Quitting would be good but obviously it desn't always make a difference
Diane

My husband was 35 yrs. old non-smoker and non-drinker and was diagnosed with tongue cancer in October. His started out like your son's. His was a white patch under the right side of his tongue near the base. He had surgery on Nov. 21st to remove 1/2 of his tongue and 42 lymph nodes on the right side of his neck. (That was a precaution, no cancer was found in the lymph nodes). In December he started Radiation Treatment and completed it last month. Unfortunately he has another white patch, he found it on Saturday and he goes to the ENT on Friday.

The best advise I can give you & your son is to go to the ENT as soon as possible to have it checked out. A biopsy is relatively painless and then you'll know for sure. I can understand you being worried, I'm in the same boat but you have to stay optimistic for him. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you.

I'll keep you in my thoughts & prayers.

Good luck,
JudyB

Hello!! I am a dental hygienist who has worked with a very courageous woman over the last few years who had her entire tongue removed over 10 years ago. She is able to speak, with some difficulty, and has lived with this for the past 10 years. I encourage your son to speak to a specialist--however overwhelming the outcome may seem. Time is crucial, as you already know. I do cancer screenings on every patient I see since I met this woman. She has made me so much more aware of the reality of oral cancer!!
I wish your entire family Godspeed!!
T. Hall

catlover its not all bad i had a sore on my toung it was cancer two times even.i went thru sergery and radiation.its been three and a half years.im doing fine just keep the faith.