This 24-year-old’s life was turned upside down by an unexpected turn of events. Initially, it seemed like a series of unfortunate incidents — a fall while indoor rock climbing leading to multiple injuries. However, that was only the start. The woman would eventually find out that she has tongue cancer and face a long journey ahead.
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The woman was concerned by a canker sore that wouldn’t go away after the accident, which turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma, more commonly known as tongue cancer. It was shocking to be hit with this reality at such a young age, especially since there were no obvious risk factors present.
However, the time between diagnosis and beginning treatment flew by. Her life was about to be drastically altered by surgery. Tissue from her thigh was used to reconstruct the other half of her tongue after it had to be removed. The procedure was extensive, requiring not only reconstruction of the tongue but also dissection of both sides of the neck to eliminate lymph nodes.
But the rest of her life continued uninterrupted by this ordeal. Love shone brightly through the mayhem. Days before the terrifying operation, she and her fiancé hurriedly tied the knot in a small backyard ceremony. The fact that she was able to walk down the aisle in an orthopedic boot is a moving testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Post-surgery, the road to recovery was steep. She faced each day with unyielding resolve as she relearned to speak and eat. Her cancer had progressed to stage 4 and spread to her lymph nodes, making radiation therapy an option.
She was able to keep her determination up thanks to a very busy schedule of therapeutic activities. On July 4th, she finally reached her dietary goal of eating before the mouth sores caused by radiation treatment rendered this impossible.
After months of therapy, she began to see improvement. Finally, the results of her scans were negative, and she celebrated with ice cream as a sweet symbol of her victory.
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