Woman discovers cancer from abnormality in tongue
The 30-year-old female patient had a sore tongue and difficulty speaking, so she decided to go to the doctor. The doctor diagnosed her with oral cancer.
Cancer can cause unpredictable symptoms, something Jackie Burch knows all too well.
Life was going well for Jackie, 30, who lives in California. She met her husband, Tobias, a pilot, in December 2016. She discovered her passion for aviation after seeing Tobias build an airplane.
Tobias offers to pay for Jackie's flying lessons. However, things come to an abrupt halt when Jackie discovers something unusual about her tongue.
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Jackie's passion for flying helps her cope with her pain. Photo: Express |
The 30-year-old woman developed a sore tongue in December 2019 and went to see a doctor in New Zealand, where she was living at the time. The hospital recommended she stay in the hospital for follow-up and start steroid injections and oral medication to remove the tumor when she returned to the US.
However, the ulcer did not improve despite Jackie's treatment.
According to Express, Jackie had a biopsy in April 2020. The results showed that she had squamous cell carcinoma. According to the UK National Health Service, this is the most common type of oral cancer, accounting for 90% of cases.
CancerOral cancer occurs when a tumor develops inside a patient's mouth, possibly on the tongue or inside the cheek.
Symptoms of oral cancer include:
- Mouth ulcers that are painful and do not heal for several weeks
- Tumors in the mouth and neck that do not go away
- Loose teeth for unknown reasons or gums that do not heal after tooth extraction
- Prolonged numbness of lips or tongue
- White or red patches appear on the oral mucosa or tongue
- Voice changes, such as slurred speech.
“See your GP or dentist if these symptoms do not improve within three weeks, especially if you drink alcohol or smoke,” advises the UK National Health Service.
Jackie then underwent surgery to remove the tumor in November 2020. Two months later, the tumor returned, requiring the woman to undergo two more surgeries in January 2021.
“It was horrible to go through,” says Jackie, who now lives in Lucerne, Switzerland. “When the tumour grew back on my tongue, I was really scared. My tongue was stuck. My voice changed.”
Despite this, Jackie completed her flight training and earned her pilot’s license. She loved flying the light aircraft her husband had built. She felt free even though she was still suffering from cancer.
“My tongue and smile are crooked. But the most important thing is that I am doing exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” she confided. Jackie’s condition is in remission, but she has been told the tumor is likely to return./.