Hi all,

Here's an update - apparently the pathologist made a mistake in his initial review of my tumor tissue. He revised his path report, stating that there was cancer after all, in the tissue removed during surgery. The initial biopsy slides - done at UCSF not Kaiser - used a special keratin stain making the cancer visible, and the Kaiser pathologist had been unaware of that special stain when he first reviewed the surgery specimen.

The pathologist was very apologetic about the mistake. While this is less good news, it is also more comprehensible. In a strange way, it is a relief to have an explanation that makes more sense. I still don't need to do radiation or chemo, thank goodness.

I'm hoping to meet with the pathologist next week, to review the slides with him, and he can walk me through what was unique/different about my tumor which made it difficult to spot. Apparently my cells were "poorly differentiated" and "spindly" which made them different from the usual cancer pattern.

The pathologist said there's a reasonable concern that chronic irritation could lead to cancer, which was helpful. Maybe that will be the backup I need so the medical system finally acknowledges and addresses my irritation from tongue movements, which cause me pain and which I can feel myself continuing to do.

Thanks for all the support.

Rahel