Hi. I'm Rod. I'm 46 and was a smoker. I smoked for about 20 years. I actually quit this morning... the same morning that annoying little ulcer under the left side of my tongue was diagnosed as cancer.
So... yeah.
They biopsied it at said that it was in the early stages.
The doctor said we'd meet again in a couple of weeks to discuss the next steps.
He seemed pretty optimistic.
There was no "gloom and doom" in the exam room.
So, here I am.

Welcome to the forum, Rod - sorry you have to be here, but glad you found us. You should find a lot of support for your upcoming treatment and your smoking cessation (good job!) on these boards.

Maria

Hi Rod. Welcome to OCF! You have found the best place to get info and support. Glad to hear you have quit using tobacco. I know its not easy, I quit cold turkey too.

With your new diagnosis you will have alot of people asking what they can do to help. Make sure you write down every single person's name and contact info and tell them when the time comes you will let them know. Here is a link from the main OCF pages which has info to help you get thru the beginning steps of setting up your treatments.

OCF main pages treatment info

Wishing you all the best with everything!

Welcome, Rod. You have come to the best place possible to be. I only wish I had found it when I was first diagnosed. So glad that you quit smoking. Also glad that your cancer seems to have been caught early. Good luck on your journey, and keep us posted. We are all here for you!

Welcome - glad it was caught early!!! Best to catch it now - I had the same cancer but I'm not a smoker or drinker - but quitting smoking is a good thing.. Glad there was no doom and gloom. That's awesome - usually surgery is the primary treatment - then depending on size/ aggressiveness - possibly admiration and chemo. - keep an eye on your neck - look for any lumps and bumps - sometimes it can move quickly. Even after surgery if you get te okay and need no follow up treatment - make sure to keep an eye out for issues in your mouth and lumps in your neck... Sorry you had to join our group - but glad you found us! Take care!

Welcome, Rod.

I had the same kind of cancer as you, but had no risk factors. You're so fortunate that you've caught it in the early stages. The only thing that concerns me is that you are not seeing your doctor for another couple of weeks. Are you meeting with any other team members in the meantime, such as a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, nutritionist, or nurse? Are you scheduled for any pre-operative scans? This is a quick-moving cancer and every week counts. I hope that there is some kind of plan to get the wheels in motion before you see your surgeon in two weeks.

Best wishes for the best possible prognosis and outcome! You've met up with a great group of people here!

With care,
Kerri

Hi Rod,
I agree with Kerri. Why wait for a few weeks. Push to get going NOW. OC travels very fast and if you are in the early stages, you want to stay that way. It took quite awhile for us to get going and it had spread to many lymph nodes. DON'T wait if you can help it. Also, hopefully you are seeing someone that has experience with OC.
This is a great place to be with tons of support. We have all been through one phase or another so you're in good hands!!
Keep in touch!!
Kathy

Rod,

Why wait a couple of weeks it's time to get moving on this now!! I agree with everyone above.

My suggestion go to a Cancer Center this is nothing to wait on.

Hope all goes well.

Take care,
Connie

Write or phone the Ottawa Hospital at:

www.ottawahospital.on.ca

to explain to them that you have just been diagnosed and would like a referral to the Cancer Centre.

This really is important. While your ENT may be competent, it is critical that your care be under a "multidisciplinary" group - meanning a group of surgeons who handle head and neck surgery, radiation and medical oncology. The group approach to making decisions is definitely beneficial to you.

Let us know how things go. These people are used to these calls so do not feel uncomfortable making it.

Donna

HI Rod

Please dont wait for a few weeks.. tongue cancer is considered as a naughty one.. it moves fast.. and even after extensive radiation therapy it can just crawl up back...

and its very beneficial to have 2 groups advising you. Not just surgeons, surgeons can be very quick in determining whats wrong, but oncologist can determine what is right treatment and when is right.

I wish you luck, and this is a really great group. Seriously

Al

Hi there again. What everyone above is saying is very true tongue cancer can move quickly once it's been poked at - mine was growing very very slowly over several years (it was well differentiated - not very aggressive) but the minute they biopsied it - I mean within the month I had a lymph node involved - I was biopsied on the 10th of dec. - results on the 20th - ct (all clear) 21st - except for remaining actual tumor - 27th I felt a lump in my neck - MRI didn't pick it up on the 6th of January - but it was there - day of surgery feb 4 - it was 1.5 cm - and was leaking from the node (ECE - extracapular extension they call it) - and this node was moderately differentiated - so it can change in aggressiveness - and move quickly. If its agressive to start it moves even faster and becomes very hard for the drs to catch. So push (I'm Canadian - I know the way our system works - you have to push) get a referral to the top cancer center here in Ontario (or at least Ottawa) and the top dr. ENT/surgical onclogist - PMH - where I was treated has a specific head and neck clinic - and their ENTs are all surgical oncologists as well. Up front They will tell you the standard treatment - then refer you to the appropriate dep. but it's a team effort always. Good luck and please don't wait! BTW - if you find the name of a top notch dr. You can ge ta referral from your GP - otherwise they just refer you within their own "group" - again - take care...

Hope Rod is doing OK...update us..