Tongue biopsy

I saw a consultant at the hospital this week after being referred by my dentist after she found a red patch on my tongue. I would just like to hear other people’s experiences as I’m feeling quite scared about what the future may hold. I’m 39 and have a 21 month old beautiful daughter so the worst thoughts are entering my mind. I had a 3 month wait for the consultant appointment and now have been told it will be around another 2 months wait for the biopsy. Is it normal to wait 6 months for a possible cancer diagnosis? I wasn’t worried about the consultant appointment, thinking I would be told it’s nothing to be concerned about. The news I needed a biopsy came as quite a shock and from what I have read it’s going to be very painful, particularly because it’s on the tongue margin so will constantly rub against my teeth. I would like to hear others experiences regarding waiting times for appointments and results and the biopsy procedure/recovery. Thanks for reading if you got to the end of this long, anxious post! 

  • Hi Carolina100,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm sorry to read about your worries and what you're going through at the moment. It's of course perfectly natural how you're feeling - the waiting is difficult, as is the uncertainty.

    It's also natural to think of worst case scenarios but try to stay as positive as possible and to distract yourself from the waiting - although I know this is much easier said than done.

    Waiting times can vary a lot. You could always try ringing the hospital to see if there have been any cancellations to see if you can move it forward. Otherwise, try to not focus on it too much.

    If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything with our nurses, you can reach them on freephone 0808 800 4040 (Monday-Friday, 9-5).

    Hopefully others will be along here soon to share any similar experiences with biopsies and waiting times.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben

    Cancer Chat Moderator