Lozz,

You appear to be doing so well, so well done. I can write on behalf of my sister and as a caregiver. She was in a similar position to you, had an ulcer which kept coming and going after treatments from her dentist. Finally in June 04 they did a biopsy which came back as negative, but in Dec 04 the ulcer reappeared and another biopsy was requested in Jan 05 which came back as positive. She had surgery in Mar 05 with a free lap reconstruction but was asked to do radiation as they had found that there were 2 positive lymph nodes. Also the margins taken were less than they would have wanted to take in one spot in an attempt to preserve the second salivary gland - and therefore speech. She had just turned 50 in Jun 05, a non-smoker, non-drinker. I had never heard of tongue cancer before she was diagnosed so I assume that whilst it existed, it did not seem to appear in the media in the same way that breast, lung or other cancers do. However, having discovered this site, which has been of invaluable, I now know differently.

I am glad that you got some time to recover from your surgery should they suggest radiation later. In retrospect, my sister did her rad & chemo treatments about 3-4 weeks after surgery when she was still poorly and as these treatments are very aggressive, it can certainly add to what is already a difficult situation.

I really do hope that you get a lucky escape from further treatment and wish you the very best with your degree. Keep plugging at it.

Will add you to my prayers!

Emily