Learning About Tongue Cancer
- A 36-year-old man was diagnosed with oral cancer after a sore on the side of his tongue that wouldn’t heal, along with symptoms of chronic pain, stomach and gastrointestinal problems, and fatigue. Now he’s urging others to get second opinions and advocate for their health.
- A mouth sore may be painful and inflamed from the start but heal within two or three weeks. On the other hand, a cancerous lump may not be painful in the early stages and it won’t get better over time.
- Tongue cancer doesn’t always show signs, but symptoms can include: a lump on the side of the tongue that touches the teeth, pain, a sense of fullness in the throat, difficulty swallowing, the feeling of a lump in the neck or throat, voice changes and ear pain.
- Tongue cancer is more commonly found in people older than 40. In addition, tongue cancer is twice as common in men, and smokers are five times more likely to develop tongue cancer than nonsmokers.
- It’s much more common to know someone who has a head or neck cancer, like tongue cancer, nowadays than it was several decades ago. And that’s because of its strong connection to HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.
- It should be noted that it’s unknown what exactly caused Mark’s tongue cancer.
Mark, a 36-year-old Colorado-based TikTok user, had an ulcer on the right side of his tongue that wouldn't heal, along with symptoms of chronic pain, stomach and gastrointestinal problems, and fatigue— which ultimately led to his oral cancer diagnosis. Now he's urging others to get checked if a mouth sore isn't getting better within two weeks. "Do you have a mouth or tongue sore that wont heal? If it hasn't healed on its own within two weeks,
get it checked out immediately . You are your biggest advocate! Screening, awareness and early detection is incredibly important. https://www.tiktok.com/@mendandthrive/video/7334197568446024991 Mark recounted in
another video that in 2020, shortly after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he noticed an ulcer on his tongue that wouldn't heal. He ended up getting it removed with a biopsy but it showed no signs of cancer or of concern. However, the pain he felt after getting the ulcer removed prompted him to have two followup appointments, but his doctors dismissed it as nothing to worry about. Now, years later, the ulcer had returned and was "paired with even more concerning symptoms, like fever, night sweats, unexplained weight loss, and swelling in my throat and neck, on the same side that would come and go," he explained. Mark then decided to go for a second opinion, which led him to get the sore biopsied, revealing his stage 1 cancer diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). He added, "Now I've been told that because of the type of cancer and the depth of invasion of the tumor on my tongue that the next busy course of action is to do a partial glossectomy [the surgical removal of part of the tongue] and they are also going to do a neck dissection where they open up the right side of my neck and remove the lymph nodes in the surrounding area. "I'm told that the pathology results from this surgery will then dictate whether or not I need chemo or radiation as further treatment down the line." Mark ended up having 41 lymph nodes removed from his neck, all which were not cancerous, and the part of his tongue removed which showed no cancer cells, which led doctors to say he only needed close observation instead of further treatment. For his "own peace of mind," Mark said he will be seeing another medical group to see their opinions on whether he does or doesn't need additional treatment. https://www.tiktok.com/@mendandthrive/video/7355633698533805358?embed_source=121374463%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121351166%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%2C72248227%3Bnull%3Bembed_name&refer=embed&referer_url=www.dailydot.com%2Fnews%2Fhealthy-checkup-cancer-diagnosis%2F&referer_video_id=7355633698533805358 In more footage shared on his social media page, Mark, who goes by the username @mendandthrive on TikTok, explained, "I learned the hard way that your annual doctor's visit and the standard blood work they do is not always a great indicator of your health. "They can't usually predict or diagnose diseases like cancer. You know yourself better than anyone and any doctor and sometimes even better than the results of a test. This is why it's so important to be persistent." He also explained in another clip, "So, I learned the hard way that your annual doctor's visit and the standard blood work they do during is not always a great indicator of your health. "Let's talk about how I went from being told I was perfectly healthy at my annual checkup to then being diagnosed with cancer a week later at a completely different doctor." Mark recounted first having a physical where they took bloodwork, did a urine test, ordered a stool sample kit, which all revealed days later everything "looked great" and he "appeared to be in optimal health." He
continued , "Clearly I was not ok. I was having night sweats at this point, fever on and off, various digestive issues, pain and burning in my mouth, and swelling in my neck, and I already had a biopsy appointment scheduled with an ENT for the ulcer that was evolving on my tongue. "And just a week after being told how healthy I was ... I was diagnosed with cancer from that biopsy." As for what he's learned from his experienced, he said the TikTok post, "I learned that the tests that they usually run on you at an annual checkup aren’t always the best indicator for your health, and they can’t usually predict or diagnose diseases like cancer. "What this example should tell you, is that once again, you know yourself better than anyone and any doctor. This is why it’s so important to be persistent, to not ignore symptoms, and to never let medical providers gaslight you into feeling like a hypochondriac." https://www.tiktok.com/@mendandthrive/video/7343702149697703199
Tongue Cancer: Understanding the Cause of Head & Neck Cancers
According to
Cedars-Sinai , several types of cancer develop in the tongue, with the most common being squamous cell carcinoma. The two types of tongue cancer are:
- Cancer of the oral tongue, which consists of the front two-thirds of the tongue that you can stick.
- Cancer of the base of the tongue, the area which is the back one-third of the tongue that extends down the throat.
Although some people may be diagnosed with tongue cancer and have no risk factors, Cedars-Sinai says this type of cancer is most commonly found in adults 40 years old and up. Men are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with tongue cancer. Other risk factors, as per Cedars-Sinai include:
- Smoking and drinking alcohol [smokers are 5x more likely to develop tongue cancer than nonsmokers]
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- African-American men have a greater risk than caucasians
It's important to note that Mark doesn't fall into any of the noted risk factors and he's unaware what caused his tongue cancer. Additionally, symptoms of tongue cancer can include:
- An unusual lump on the side of the tongue
- An ulcer-like lump, of a grayish-pink to red color
- A lump that bleeds easily when touched
Tongue cancer may be hard to spot in its early stages, however, when the cancer develops, patients may experience trouble with swallowing, voice changes, pain in the ear, pain in the throat, or a feeling of fullness in the throat. As for how throat cancer is diagnosed, it's usually done through X-rays, CT scans, and PET scans. A diagnosis often requires a biopsy. For tongue cancer treatment, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are usually done.
HPV and Cancer Risk: The Basics It’s much more common to know someone who has a head or neck cancer, like tongue cancer, now-a-days than it was several decades ago. And that’s because of its strong connection to the
human papillomavirus , also known as HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. “From the 1980s to the 2010s, the rate of HPV-related head and neck cancers has gone up by 300 percent,”
Dr. Ted Teknos , a head and neck cancer specialist, and president and scientific director of University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, told SurvivorNet during a previous interview. The vast majority of humans in the United States both men and women will eventually get infected with HPV, according to
Dr. Allen Ho , a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai.
Expert Resources on HPV-Related Cancers
“The important thing to know about HPV is that there are many different strains, and only a couple of them tend to be more cancer-inducing,” he told SurvivorNet. “Probably less than 1 percent of the population who get infected happen to have the cancer-causing virus that somehow their immune system fails to clear, and over 15 to 20 years it develops from a viral infection into a tumor, and a cancer.” It’s unclear whether HPV alone is enough to trigger the changes in your cells that lead to head and neck cancers, or whether this happens in combination with other risk factors like smoking. Of course, some people who develop head and/or neck cancers have no known risk factors for the condition. Genetics can play a role in this cancer, too.
Why the HPV Vaccine is so Important in Preventing Cancer Head and neck cancers are unique in that they’re usually preventable with the HPV vaccine. And that’s why those eligible should get vaccinated against HPV, SurvivorNet experts have told us. The vaccine is typically given to children before they are sexually active, as HPV is transmitted through sexual contact. And
contrary to some detrimental misinformation circulated online , the HPV vaccine is entirely safe. There are virtually no side effects with this vaccine,
Dr. Jonathan Berek , director of the Women’s Cancer Center at Stanford Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
Leading Experts Urge Patients to Be Proactive
As we highlight in several areas of SurvivorNet, highly respected doctors sometimes disagree on the right course of treatment for an ailment, and advances in medicine are always creating new options. Also, in some instances the specific course of treatment is not clear cut. That’s even more reason why understanding the potential approaches to your disease is crucial.
Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions Furthermore, getting another opinion may also help you avoid doctor biases. For example, when seeking care for cancer, some surgeons may have an affiliation with a radiation center. “So there may be a conflict of interest if you present to a surgeon that is recommending radiation because there is some ownership of that type of facility,” Dr. Jim Hu, director of robotic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. Other reasons to get a second opinion include:
- To see a doctor who has more experience treating your type of disease
- You have a rare disease
- There are several ways to treat your illness
- You feel like your doctor isn’t listening to you, or isn’t giving you good advice
- You have trouble understanding your doctor
- You don’t like the treatment your doctor is recommending, or you’re worried about its possible side effects
- Your insurance company wants you to get another medical opinion
Bottom line, being proactive about your health could be a matter of life or death. Learn as much as you can from as many experts as you can, so that you know that you did your best to take control of your health.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff 
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