Christy,

I'm sorry to hear how quickly this has affected your grandmother. Unfortunately, with many oral cancers, by the time they become noticeable they have already been in the body for years. They can stay at a microscopic level for awhile where they aren't readily detected. My oral surgeon told me that my tumor had probably been there for as many as 5 years before it was diagnosed.

Certain types of cancer cells can grow at abnormally fast rates, and it sounds as though that may be what your grandmother is faced with. As Dan said, if that's the case, the doctors should be doing anything possible to minimize her pain.

Cathy