Hello all. This is my first post -- I found the site a week or so ago while looking for some new cancer-related information for someone I know who is being treated for lower gum SCC.

Today is the 15-year anniversary of my surgery for SCC of the tongue (diagnosed as T2N0M0). Surgery was a partial glossectomy with neck dissection, followed by 34 radiation treatments and then a radiation implant. Diagnosis was a long and frustrating process back then, as I kept hearing from various doctors and dentists that the persistent spot on my tongue was nothing to worry about since I had never smoked. Fortunately, I finally connected with an oral surgeon who recognized the extent of the problem, performed a biopsy, and immediately moved my case into the hands of a team of oncologists. Thank God I have now been cancer free for 15 years.

The biggest long term effect of radiation has been dry mouth (not surprisingly). I was in clinical trials for oral pilocarpine (Salagen) a couple of years after my treatment, and it has been effective enough for me that I have continued to take it daily ever since. While it does not get me back to "normal" salivary function, it is a definite improvement for a few hours at a time.

My oncologist periodically does thyroid tests but thus far I have not reached a hypothyroid stage requiring medication.

Certainly the months of treatment and the ensuing months of healing were sometimes excruciating and debilitating, but I'm thankful that life in many ways since then has been far better than I could have anticipated.

I'm glad to see that there is now a growing awareness of the specific needs and challenges of oral cancer. Keep up the good work.