Hello my name is John. I'm a 25 year old preschool teacher who has just been recently diagnosed with stage 1 oral cancer. It started as what I assumed was a really stubborn canker sore since I'm predisposed to them. Well after 3 months and no improvement I went to a dentist who took one look at it and had me imidiately go for a biopsy that day. I waited for 5 days and got the results back. I had well diffirenciated tongue cancer. 4 days after that I went into surgery and had part of my tongue removed and some of my lymph nodes removed on that side.

It's been 4 days since my surgery and I'm being overwhelmed with so many questions and the desperate need to talk to people who have gone or are going through this.

My major question is how long before the swelling goes down? And a ball bark healing time. They caught it so quick they didn't need to remove a large portion of my tongue so I didnt need any skin grafts.
Thank you for reading my post and I look forward to hearing from you guys

Hi John, our cases seem similar. I just completed 30 yo and was 29 when diagnosed. I am stage I like you, didnt needend to have anything on my tongue replaced.

My tongue surgery was on december 07, and 2 weeks later i had 57 lymphonodes removed. All came back clean.

I am also really anxious, but my life is almost back to normal. I mean almost because since i had primmary closure my speech is understandable but not as before.

My main issue right now is the afraid of reccurence, this is driving me mad.

Are you using any tube to eat? I got my removed one week later and started eating solids 20 days after surgery. Swelling is decreasing but i still have some hard parts on the tongue.

My neck is healing but not painfull... How many nodes you got off? Hope you get well asap! Its HARD to be into this so young!

Hi John:
Welcome to the Forum, although I hate you had to be here. I don't know anything about tongue cancer, but you will be hearing from many on this Forum soon when they read your post. It sounds like you are one of the lucky ones who had their cancer caught early and won't have to go through the radiaton/chemo series most of us had. That is a blessing. You take care, and others will write soon.
julieann

John,
How many lymph nodes out? I am assuming you had a CT scan at least. Were the lymph nodes taken out because it looked like one was diseased?

As to swelling . . . variable. Without radiation it will still take you some months for it to be close to normal. Be sure you do the exercises they will tell you to do.

It would be handy if you would make a signature to let us know what your situation is. Hopefully your surgery will take care of everything!

Best to you,
Anne

John, Welcome to OCF, glad you found us my friend, sorry you had to.

You are very fortunate that it was caught early, count your blessings there. Survival and recovery are more favorable the lower the stage, as you're a young man you should bounce back quickly.

These forums are amazing for connecting with other survivors and caregivers who are familiar with the path you've found yourself on. It is very common for your mind to race with questions and concerns so don't hesitate to voice them as chances are someone has the answers or can relate.

I know for me being diagnosed at a young age of 33, the realization that I had cancer and could die did a number on me emotionally as I was still under the impression I was Superman and would live forever. (I actually "hate" Superman as I think he's such a cliche superhero and identify more with say a Wolverine or Deadpool but that's the geek in me speaking)

Be well, again welcome to our little oasis on the net.

Eric

[quote=braziliangirl82]Hi John, our cases seem similar. I just completed 30 yo and was 29 when diagnosed. I am stage I like you, didnt needend to have anything on my tongue replaced.

My tongue surgery was on december 07, and 2 weeks later i had 57 lymphonodes removed. All came back clean.

I am also really anxious, but my life is almost back to normal. I mean almost because since i had primmary closure my speech is understandable but not as before.

My main issue right now is the afraid of reccurence, this is driving me mad.

Are you using any tube to eat? I got my removed one week later and started eating solids 20 days after surgery. Swelling is decreasing but i still have some hard parts on the tongue.

My neck is healing but not painfull... How many nodes you got off? Hope you get well asap! Its HARD to be into this so young! [/quote]
Thank you for replying to me. You have no idea the comfort there is in hearing from just one person. I had a few lymph nodes removed and frozen to see if they were affected and they came back clear. I didn't have a feeding tube. I've been eating semi solid foods like applesauce and soup. I can talk kind of clearly but my tongue is still somewhat swollen.
I just kind of feel trapped in my own body right now and very depressed. I'm having these outbursts of tears for almost no reason and I'm just all around scared. Scared that I won't be able to eat normally again scared that my job won't be held. But I'm trying to stay positive. This was all just such a whirlwind. I went from having cancer to having a biopsy to having it removed and my lymph nodes removed in the span of 3 weeks. And I'm so totally upset that the hospital gave me and my family so little information on healing

[quote=AnneO]John,
How many lymph nodes out? I am assuming you had a CT scan at least. Were the lymph nodes taken out because it looked like one was diseased?

As to swelling . . . variable. Without radiation it will still take you some months for it to be close to normal. Be sure you do the exercises they will tell you to do.

It would be handy if you would make a signature to let us know what your situation is. Hopefully your surgery will take care of everything!

Best to you,
Anne [/quote]

They removed some as a precaution and froze some to see if cancer would grow and it came back negative. I can currently talk a bit and think I'll be able to talk normally once the swelling goes down. The most amount of pain I'm currently experiencing is coming from the tip of my tongue. A nurse told me around a week and the swelling would go down. I'd like to be able to manipulate food without pain

John,

Cancer is a scary thing. The word alone is enough to make your blood run cold, being diagnosed with it is literally a life changing thing. It is OK to be afraid, it's OK to be emotional and depressed...very common reactions to this experience.

Dr's are typically very short on information for many reasons and to those that want more information it usually feels like you have to threaten their lives to get anything out of them. That's where these forums come in. This site and these forums are a wealth of information and experience and we're here to help you through. Not just the physical recovery but the mental and emotional as well. Often times those are the hardest aspects anyways.

Here's the thing, really it looks good for you. You didn't have to be subjected to radiation or chemo (which sucks) and your surgery didn't seem to be very invasive and as soon as your swelling comes down you'll bounce back. You have so many things going your way...rejoice in that.

I was on the opposite of the spectrum, I had a late stage diagnosis. I had to go through radiation/chemo and several surgeries. I lost half my face, my ability to eat most foods and speak clearly. I lost my job and the life I lead before cancer. You know what? I'm alive and I'm loving life more now then ever before even through these changes. What I'm trying to say John, is that life is good even if you have to find another job, or go through some financial struggle. I've drawn strength and hope from the others on these forums who've gone through more then I and have found my footing again because of their example.

We're here for you my friend. You'll get through this.

Eric

John,

I had the same surgery as you and 14 lymph nodes taken out. The swelling will go down within a couple of weeks. You'll be able to eat normal in a week or so. I had a tingling through my tongue I asked my surgeon he told me it's healing. I was on pain pills for 2 weeks then switched over to tylenol over the counter.
My lymph nodes were taken also as a precaution and I'm glad I did it. You'll be talking just fine in a couple of weeks. Certain foods I couldn't eat for a while, mash potatoes were gross and so was mac and cheese, it' fine now. Spicy food was a no no for a while too, but they are fine now.

One problem I do have is scar tissue where they took out the tumor in my tongue. Now that kinda interfers with my speech, but being a fast talker I have to learn to slow down my speech. When I talk slowly my speech is fine. Talking fast the sentences run together.

Hang in there you'll be fine in a couple of weeks.

Take care,
Connie

[quote=EricS]John,

Cancer is a scary thing. The word alone is enough to make your blood run cold, being diagnosed with it is literally a life changing thing. It is OK to be afraid, it's OK to be emotional and depressed...very common reactions to this experience.

Dr's are typically very short on information for many reasons and to those that want more information it usually feels like you have to threaten their lives to get anything out of them. That's where these forums come in. This site and these forums are a wealth of information and experience and we're here to help you through. Not just the physical recovery but the mental and emotional as well. Often times those are the hardest aspects anyways.

Here's the thing, really it looks good for you. You didn't have to be subjected to radiation or chemo (which sucks) and your surgery didn't seem to be very invasive and as soon as your swelling comes down you'll bounce back. You have so many things going your way...rejoice in that.

I was on the opposite of the spectrum, I had a late stage diagnosis. I had to go through radiation/chemo and several surgeries. I lost half my face, my ability to eat most foods and speak clearly. I lost my job and the life I lead before cancer. You know what? I'm alive and I'm loving life more now then ever before even through these changes. What I'm trying to say John, is that life is good even if you have to find another job, or go through some financial struggle. I've drawn strength and hope from the others on these forums who've gone through more then I and have found my footing again because of their example.

We're here for you my friend. You'll get through this.

Eric [/quote]
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. It gives me a lot of hope. It's just completely unnerving that all this could happen and what the price tag has been. I can't even describe what part of this is the worst. I wake up some mornings and can't stop crying. And I don't always know why. But god be with you and again thank you for sharing a spark of hope with me.