I’m new to all of this. I’m a 52 year old healthy male. I spend 40 minutes a day 6 days a week on an elliptical machine, and eat a mostly vegetarian diet, trying to stay healthy. I don’t drink at all, don’t smoke or use any type of drugs. No health complications at all. Back in January of this year, 2025, I had what I thought was a canker sore under the side of my tongue. Approximately 6 months after it didn’t heal or go away, I saw a dentist and ultimately an oral surgeon who excised the lesion and was later diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I literally have not a single risk factor for this type of cancer so no idea how or why this happened to me which is extremely frustrating. I am waiting on more test results to find out if I need to get the lymph nodes in my neck removed.

Hope to meet some people in the same situation and gain some educational and motivational support here. Thanks.

I recommend that you request a test for the presence of HPV P16 or 18 laboratory results from your mouth lesion.
This viral infection is the most common cause of oral cancer and head and neck cancers.