Hi there

My name is Anna and I recently discovered this support group after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of my tongue in May of 2020.

I am 33 and HPV negative and have no other known risk factors. To top it all off when I was diagnosed I was 31 weeks pregnant with our first and will likely be our only child. I originally thought that my tongue was swollen from pregnancy and I had bitten it. I was cursing the fact I couldn't take ibuprofen being pregnant and that is why it was staying inflamed and I kept re biting it. Ultimately I saw an ENT who immediately biopsied it and got me started with a great head and neck surgeon. At 33 weeks pregnant I underwent a partial glossectomy and neck dissection. Unfortunately the cancer was found in multiple nodes on pathology and I need both chemo and radiation to both sides of my neck. We induced delivery early at 36 weeks and luckily we had a healthy baby girl who only needed to have light therapy for jaundice and never needed a NICU admission.

I am now in full swing of chemo and radiation treatments I have had 9 radiation sessions and 2 rounds of cisplatin with plan for 30 radiation sessions and 7 chemo infusions.

The side effects of treatment are starting to emerge and I am struggling with knowing the inevitable symptoms and pain that will come while I am trying to learn how to be a good Mama to my 5 week old little girl.

Any recommendations on symptomatic relief and getting through this treatment is most appreciated especially the mental aspect of getting through this treatment and surviving this cancer

Thank you so much

Anna

I know that after getting sliced up along with the combination of pain and wonder about why this hit me (add new baby in your case) left me feeling punch drunk. Slowly things healed and in my case the pain subsided.
Hang in there and expect that things will get better with time so you can get back to living life.

Hi Anna

Wow. That is a lot to process at once. So glad to hear your new baby is well. As for managing treatments, here are a few things that helped me - light exercise with friends, journaling daily, yoga, tracking my medicine, activity, calories and weight and giving myself a score and a treat when I scored high, prayer, having different friends and family members join me every week for the different treatments.

I am learning that everyone’s cancer journey is different. So, try a bunch of stuff. It was hard for me to accept help at first but I later looked back and realized how much all the emails and phone calls and visits helped me.

Keep us updated on your progress.