Tongue cancer in young adults

farbodaskari
farbodaskari Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I have a 23 years old brother. He has been complaining of neck pain for awhile and he has a small red and white lesion on his tongue. He went to a ENT doctor roughly 2 months ago. The doctor prescribed various antibiotics but they were not effective. This past Wednesday he went to the doctor again and he performed a biopsy. we will get the results this coming Wednesday. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is not cancer. My brother is not a smoker and does not use smokeless tobacco. I am sick worried about him. I was just wondering if there were people here under the age of 30 with head and neck cancer?

thanks,

Comments

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
    Age
    Hi farbodaskari

    Welcome to CSN, Cancer does not know an age; it can strike anyone from the very young to the very old. Keep praying for your brother that it is not cancer and I will do the same, but if it is don’t let it get you or your brother down. Cancer can be cured so there is hope. He will need your support and support from a lot of others, friends & family, don’t give up, this is only a door in life he must go through to get to the other side.

    Take care and may God bless and grant your request
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #3
    Hondo said:

    Age
    Hi farbodaskari

    Welcome to CSN, Cancer does not know an age; it can strike anyone from the very young to the very old. Keep praying for your brother that it is not cancer and I will do the same, but if it is don’t let it get you or your brother down. Cancer can be cured so there is hope. He will need your support and support from a lot of others, friends & family, don’t give up, this is only a door in life he must go through to get to the other side.

    Take care and may God bless and grant your request

    oral sex
    Head and neck cancer is on the rise in young adults because of the transmission of the HPV virus during oral sex. Having raised two children in the United States currently 20 and 16 years of age I know that oral sex is more prevalent today than when I was a teen. Young folks mistakenly feel it is a safer form of sex or not really sex at all. It is estimated that anyone with more than six sex partners in a lifetime has contracted the HPV virus. There is a vacine available for both girls and boys to fight the strains of the virus that cause cervical cancer and head and neck cancer. Hopefully he does not have cancer and that would put you in a position to have him vacinated down the road. Let us know how it turns out.
  • GRAVEY
    GRAVEY Member Posts: 83
    #4
    I was diagnosed with
    I was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma at the base of my tongue when I was 35. The HPV virus was given as the explanation from my oncologist as to what she thought was the cause of my cancer. I dont know if they officially did any tests to verify that or if that was just her opinion. I had a lymph node in my neck swell and after removing it they biopsied it and said it was cancerous, then went in to take my tonsils out, and before they actually removed them, they looked around and saw the lesion on the base of my tongue, and stopped right there. I then went through 3 Chemo treatments and 35 Radiation treatments. I go Friday for my first checkup. They will probably do the scope up the nose thing, I hope that your brother's tests come back neg. Prayers to your brother and you as well.

    GRAVEY
  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #5
    GRAVEY said:

    I was diagnosed with
    I was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma at the base of my tongue when I was 35. The HPV virus was given as the explanation from my oncologist as to what she thought was the cause of my cancer. I dont know if they officially did any tests to verify that or if that was just her opinion. I had a lymph node in my neck swell and after removing it they biopsied it and said it was cancerous, then went in to take my tonsils out, and before they actually removed them, they looked around and saw the lesion on the base of my tongue, and stopped right there. I then went through 3 Chemo treatments and 35 Radiation treatments. I go Friday for my first checkup. They will probably do the scope up the nose thing, I hope that your brother's tests come back neg. Prayers to your brother and you as well.

    GRAVEY

    Your 1st ckup
    Gravey, I pray your checkup went very well.
    God Bless,
    Debbie
  • GRAVEY
    GRAVEY Member Posts: 83
    #6
    debbiejeanne said:

    Your 1st ckup
    Gravey, I pray your checkup went very well.
    God Bless,
    Debbie

    Thanks Deb
    He actually didnt
    Thanks Deb

    He actually didnt do very much today, he said I could go back to work part time, felt around in my mouth with his finger, felt my lymphs, The thrush is back, and that kinda sucks, he also said they dont do PET/CTs until 3 months after the last treatment, so I got two more months to wait, and worry ......
  • BeatificBrunette
    BeatificBrunette Member Posts: 6
    #7
    Hi,

    First of all, I am so sorry for what you, your brother and family are going through right now. Waiting is such a hard thing, with all the possibilities running through your head.

    I'm 23 and I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in my tongue on November 16, 2009. I do not use tobacco of any kind and I also do not drink alcohol. I also have had the HPV vaccine (HPV has been linked to oral cancer). The only possible indictator would be my family history. My grandmother just finished treatment for tongue cancer in August and my father finished treatment for throat cancer in November, but tongue cancer is not generally believed to be hereditary. My ENT did the biopsy just to rule out cacner and to reassure me. Her words: "Twenty three year olds don't get tongue cancer".

    I really hope that your brother gets good news on Wednesday! I will keep my fingers crossed and positive thoughts flowing for him.
  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #8
    GRAVEY said:

    Thanks Deb
    He actually didnt
    Thanks Deb

    He actually didnt do very much today, he said I could go back to work part time, felt around in my mouth with his finger, felt my lymphs, The thrush is back, and that kinda sucks, he also said they dont do PET/CTs until 3 months after the last treatment, so I got two more months to wait, and worry ......

    you
    Gravey, I'm sorry you have to wait, I know how hard that is. I am now at 3 months since my last trmnt and my pet scan is at 4 months, Feb. 1. I'm sorry to hear the thrush is back, hopefully it won't hang around too long...lol. Please keep us posted. I hope you're feeling ok.
    God Bless You,
    Debbie
  • SASH
    SASH Member Posts: 421 Member
    #9
    BeatificBrunette said:

    Hi,

    First of all, I am so sorry for what you, your brother and family are going through right now. Waiting is such a hard thing, with all the possibilities running through your head.

    I'm 23 and I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in my tongue on November 16, 2009. I do not use tobacco of any kind and I also do not drink alcohol. I also have had the HPV vaccine (HPV has been linked to oral cancer). The only possible indictator would be my family history. My grandmother just finished treatment for tongue cancer in August and my father finished treatment for throat cancer in November, but tongue cancer is not generally believed to be hereditary. My ENT did the biopsy just to rule out cacner and to reassure me. Her words: "Twenty three year olds don't get tongue cancer".

    I really hope that your brother gets good news on Wednesday! I will keep my fingers crossed and positive thoughts flowing for him.

    Young
    I remember after I was done with treatment and I was visiting the cancer center, one of the nurses asked me to go talk to the family of a tongue cancer patient that was in surgery. The patient at the time was 16. This is the youngest I have ever heard of for getting this and told the family they could contact me if they wanted any information in the future. I never heard any thing from them or even know how the patient did in surgery or after.
  • Landranger25
    Landranger25 Member Posts: 210 Member
    #10
    debbiejeanne said:

    you
    Gravey, I'm sorry you have to wait, I know how hard that is. I am now at 3 months since my last trmnt and my pet scan is at 4 months, Feb. 1. I'm sorry to hear the thrush is back, hopefully it won't hang around too long...lol. Please keep us posted. I hope you're feeling ok.
    God Bless You,
    Debbie

    Don't worry
    Don't sweat it too much about having to wait for your first PET scan. The wife and I pushed a bit to get going with my first one and all it did was cloud the issue for us. (we did it at 2 months) Results showed some uptake and Doc's had to try and figure out if it was active disease process or something else. Surgeon commented if we had just waited a minimum of 3 months, preferably 6 that it may not have been an issue. I wish I had waited and not pushed. Just keep working on getting your strength back and get yourself back to normal as close as you can.

    Mike
  • cherrn
    cherrn Member Posts: 1
    #11
    My daughter was diagnosed
    My daughter was diagnosed with tongue cancer in November 2009 at the age of 23. Similar to your brother, she found a thick lesion on her tongue, saw an ENT, went through antibiotics without improvement and finally demanded a biopsy which was positive. Never smoked/tobacco or drank. She had surgery - a partial glossectomy with lymph node resection - which means they took off a part of her tongue at and around the lesion and lots of lymph nodes on that side of her neck - followed by radiation treatment. She finished treatment 2 years ago in March and is doing great. Speech is clear, linear scar on neck well faded, and scans are consistently good - so even if it is cancer, there is hope for good outcomes! Was just reading a study today that over the past 30 years, the incidence of oral cancer in the young (18 - 44) has increased by 111% for women and 48% for men - for no known reason. Not the HPV virus, not tobacco. Guess vigilence is the key. Hope all went well for your brother.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #12
    cherrn said:

    My daughter was diagnosed
    My daughter was diagnosed with tongue cancer in November 2009 at the age of 23. Similar to your brother, she found a thick lesion on her tongue, saw an ENT, went through antibiotics without improvement and finally demanded a biopsy which was positive. Never smoked/tobacco or drank. She had surgery - a partial glossectomy with lymph node resection - which means they took off a part of her tongue at and around the lesion and lots of lymph nodes on that side of her neck - followed by radiation treatment. She finished treatment 2 years ago in March and is doing great. Speech is clear, linear scar on neck well faded, and scans are consistently good - so even if it is cancer, there is hope for good outcomes! Was just reading a study today that over the past 30 years, the incidence of oral cancer in the young (18 - 44) has increased by 111% for women and 48% for men - for no known reason. Not the HPV virus, not tobacco. Guess vigilence is the key. Hope all went well for your brother.

    I believe they are in fact
    I believe they are in fact attributing it to HPV in young people, even some of us old people.
  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #13
    cherrn said:

    My daughter was diagnosed
    My daughter was diagnosed with tongue cancer in November 2009 at the age of 23. Similar to your brother, she found a thick lesion on her tongue, saw an ENT, went through antibiotics without improvement and finally demanded a biopsy which was positive. Never smoked/tobacco or drank. She had surgery - a partial glossectomy with lymph node resection - which means they took off a part of her tongue at and around the lesion and lots of lymph nodes on that side of her neck - followed by radiation treatment. She finished treatment 2 years ago in March and is doing great. Speech is clear, linear scar on neck well faded, and scans are consistently good - so even if it is cancer, there is hope for good outcomes! Was just reading a study today that over the past 30 years, the incidence of oral cancer in the young (18 - 44) has increased by 111% for women and 48% for men - for no known reason. Not the HPV virus, not tobacco. Guess vigilence is the key. Hope all went well for your brother.

    Cherm ...
    May I ask what stage cancer your daugher? ...I looked at your bio but it did not say ...mine was stage III base of tongue with one lymph node ...that was it...your daughters cancer "sounds" as if it was at least stage III due to local spread and lymph node involvment ...

    Thanks.

    Tim / Idaho

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