I was diagnosed with T1 tongue cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) at aged 23 in 2014. I am male. I did not smoke and hardly drunk.
I had a partial glossectomy (3/4 cm from front left) and sentinel node biopsy on my neck. Unfortunately a tiny amount of cancer cells were found in a neck node, and I returned to hospital for a partial neck dissection on both sides of my neck.
Following this I developed a chyle leak and underwent a third op to block a duct and resolve the leak. This all went well and I was released a few days before christmas 2014.
Thankfully all my other neck nodes were clear, so no other treatments were required.
I was discharged after five years in January 2020 and take each year as it comes. I now look forward to my 10 years since diagnoses.
