Tongue Pain months after surgery and Radiation

mporce01
mporce01 Member Posts: 3
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello, 

So i am 11 months out of my 2nd tongue resection, 10 months out of my lymph node removal and 7 months out from finishing radiation therapy.  I had a Squamos Cell Carcinoma on the right anterior portion of my tongue.  After mulitple resection and radiation i was told it is gone.  About 6 days ago i started to have pain on the right side of my tongue.  Not where the tumor was per say but underneath it at the bottom.   It feels like  muscle pain, not like if I had bitten my tongue.  I feel it (remember on the right side) when i extend my tonge to my lips and move to the left.  If i move to the right i dont necessarily feel it.  It hurts and i am wondering if it could be scar tissue or something along that line.  I just saw my ENT a month ago and he did the throat scope and looked at my tongue and said all looked good (this is after an MRI and other visits with my radiation doc).  Wonder if anyone else has felt something similar?  It literally just popped out of nowhere 6 days ago.... Thanks for any input.  As you can imagine i am still a little anxious with anything in that area.  

 

MP

Comments

  • johnsonbl
    johnsonbl Member Posts: 266 Member
    #2
    Understandable that you are nervous....

    It could absolutely be scar tissue or one of a million things...  If you are worried, call your team.  I've gone in to mine with my share of "the sky is falling, my cancer is back" symptoms and felt stupid after they told me everything was fine...and each time they told me to call at ANY time.  Better safe than sorry they always say.

    So, if you are losing sleep over it...go on in.  If you can wait a week...wait a week and see if it's still there and then definitely go in.  There seems to be a magic "two week" rule that physicians abide to.  If it's still there in 2 weeks get it checked out.

    Hope it is fine.  Good luck.

    Brandon

  • Drivingdaisy
    Drivingdaisy Member Posts: 263
    #3
    Tongue pain

    I had SCC stage 3 tonsil Cancer.  No surgery, could not get to it without removing all my teeth, no lymph involved but months after Rads & chemo had burning tongue syndrom.  Scared.  Couldn’t make it better.  My Cancer dentist did laser that helped a ton.  My problem is lost all my Saliva & thyroid, which has caused a serious sodium condition.  Like water poisioning from drinking too much fluid.  Have to take extra salt & other supplements to help work with it.  Very miserable.  Had special surgery on my below tongue ducts to open them to release saliva which turned out to be chemo nasty saliva.  Still desert mouth.  Going insane.  Hampering,eating & swallowing.  Dread getting up everyday to it.  But 2 1/2 yrs Cancer free.......nothing in Throat, mouth or chest.  Thankful for that but would never do chemo/ Rads again.  Caused so much delayed side effect.  Drs have not seen this much, should be doing better.  Cancer is funny, different for everyone, many suffer more than others.  Why.....who knows.  Which I was all my Cancer friends not dealing with horrible side effects, just going about their life.......so jealous.  Always ask if you don’t feel comfortable about something.  I didn’t speak up enough.

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