Diagnosed yesterday with tongue cancer - scared

Hello Mr Fox

 You are very welcome here where you will find LOTS of us who have had this in one form or another. The diagnosis is always a bit of a shock. Head and neck cancers including the tongue are very treatable so please don't panic and steer clear of Google. Ask anything you like here and you will get honest and genuine answers. 

JonH

Thank you JonH, just trying to keep my emotions under control and process all the information from the appointment. It sounded positive however pivots on the CT results, they checked my lympth nodes and couldnt feel anything. It does appear to be localised to the front, under my tongue, you can feel it with your fingers, a nobbly lump.

They didnt go into detail of the potential cause, although I have a suspicion this has started from an abbrasive tooth. I have suffered for 4 years from a sore that kept coming and going, had a biopsy 3 years ago on it and came back clear. The sore (on the side of my tongue) appears to have tracked downwards towards the wharton's salivary gland. Although they initially felt it wasnt due to the gland.

They said if the ct is clear this will potentially be a 40 minute operation to remove the affected area, which appears to be around 1.5-2cm however they mentioned there would be a further 1cm needed, which sounds like a lot of area to remove...

Then follow ups over 5 years. My brain is now going at 1000mph thinking beyond this, will this reoccur, will I make 5 years, has it gone any further etc etc. It all feels like a blur/dream, wondering when my mind will begin to settle. Although this feels like it could be a nice place to off load, many thanks

Well that doesn't sound a bad place to start (although when you hear the word cancer the tendency is to panic). Nothing much you can do until you get the scan results. Personally I'd not worry about the how it happened and concentrate on getting it fixed.  The 5 years is just the standard period of time that the health service keep you under surveillance after a cancer diagnosis. The good news is that once you have the diagnosis as you now have, then you will be fast tracked into the system. I know its very hard to not worry about the worst but there are many of us here who have been diagnosed and sucessfully treated for tongue cancer myself included. I'm sure some others will be along to offer reassurance soon !

Thank you Jonh, just had the hospital call (out the blue) to book an MRI, I was only expecting a CT. Does that sound normal?

Yes, perfectly normal. You may get a PET scan as well if they are being very thorough although not usually at this stage.

Hi mr fox. 
just to back up everything that’s already been said. 
MRI gives more accurate detail than a CT at this stage so they are just mappings g the tumour. 
You’ll probably get a CT to check your lungs but don’t worry about that it’s standard procedure. We all get it. 
It’s good that you have no nodes involved so trust your team and let them get on with it because they are good at what they do. 
if you think of questions to ask at your next appointment it’s a good idea to write them down and go in with a list. 
Good  luck 

Hi MrFox

All the emotions you are describing are completely normal, and most of us experienced them

I do think your prognosis sounds excellent however- it was caught early by the sounds of things which is huge.

Trev

Thank you Beesuit, I have to say they have been super quick, I have the MRI tomorrow and CT Tuesday, felt a little overwhelmed but I'm glad its moving quicker. Initially I was told the scan would be 10 days to 2 weeks.

thank you Trev, whenever someone says something nice I feel like bursting into tears, it's crazy

Been there mate, its totally normal, the first time i cried was when the doctor told me i had a good chance of a cure! i had convinced myself it was a death sentence and when he told me otherwise- off i went. Not crazy at all mate.