For a year, she was prescribed drugs such as antibiotics, painkillers and ulcer gel, but nothing helped .
A university student who thought her mouth ulcers were caused by exam stress ended up recovering her tongue after being diagnosed with cancer.
“Rachel Morton, 21, underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer, as well as a speech therapist to relearn how to speak. Two-thirds of her tongue was removed and replaced with a new tongue made from her thigh at 16 -hour operation,” says Andrey Vorobyov, an oncologist, commenting on a clinical case especially for MedikForum.
Rachel, who lives in Edinburgh, first noticed the ulcers in 2019 but initially thought they were caused by stress. She had several telephone consultations with a doctor, as well as a visit to the dentist, both of which were prescribed antibiotics. But by her second year at university, the ulcers had become so painful that she couldn't stick her tongue out or drink alcohol.
“At first it was a couple of sores, but within a year they got bigger and spread and covered the whole side of my tongue. They were very red, raw and sore. Once a week my lips became very red, dry, swollen and inflamed. I also had rash around them, it almost looked like I was allergic,” says Rachel.
“Eventually, after several visits to the general practitioner, in November 2020, Rachel was referred for a biopsy. But just a few days later, an aspiring psychiatrist at the age of 19 was diagnosed with tongue cancer.”
Oncology: changes in your gums that may be a sign – doctor Vorobyov
Symptoms of tongue cancer include:
- Red or white spot on the tongue that does not go away
- A sore throat that does not go away
- A sore spot (ulcer) or swelling on the tongue that does not go away
- Pain when swallowing
- Numbness in the mouth that does not go away
- Pain or burning above the tongue
- Problems with tongue movement or speech
- Lump on neck
- Unexplained bleeding from the tongue (not caused by tongue biting or other trauma)
- Ear pain (rare).
Formerly MedicalForum wrote about the symptoms of hormonal disorders.
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