Diagnosed with tongue cancer

[Desdemoana]

I've had an ulcer on the side of my tongue for about 3 months and was told yesterday that it's cancer - a squamous cell carcinoma. It's very small and I've been told I need to have the lump removed as well as some tissue around it in the next 6 wweks which seems a long time. I have an amalgam filling in one of my back teeth. I had the filling because the side of the tooth had broken off and where my cancerous ulcer is located on my tongue is literally pressing against the amalgam filling 24/7. I can't help thinking that this constant exposure may have contributed to the cancer as some people can develop an allergic reaction to mecury after many years. I can't wear earrings as I'm allergic to nickel and even titanium irritates my skin so it wouldnt surpise me if im allergic to mercury. I'm an ex smoker and I've no doubt that is probably the main cause of the cancer but for my own peace of mind I'd like the whole tooth removed with the filling as the tooth is so damaged. I've got an appointment with my dentist to have the tooth removed but it's not until mid November. Having this filling is driving me crazy and I'm desperate to have it removed. I'm worried that the dentist won't remove it at all now that I have tongue cancer. It's massively affecting my mental health and I feel so much despair. I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience and could offer some advice. Feeling incredibly low right now. Thank you.

I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis, I can understand you are really worried.

So you are having the lump removed , some time in the next 6 weeks - that’s until mid November.

And your dental appointment isn’t until November as well.

Have I got that right ?

As these areas are right next to each other, you need to get the cancer surgery done first and allow everything to heal up before you get elective dental work done right next to it.

Even if you are right that the amalgam filling has caused this (which I’m not going to debate with you as I can tell you are stressed about it ) , it will have taken years. So it won’t matter if it’s still there for another 8 or 10 weeks.

If you are worried about the amalgam filling, you could have it changed to a composite ( white) filling . Lots of people have this done for aesthetic reasons. You don’t need to have the whole tooth taken out and your dentist will be reluctant to take out a tooth than can be saved.

I can understand why you're fixating on this but I don't think there's any correlation between fillings and mouth cancer (certainly hope not as I have a mouthful of them!). Would you consider having the tooth crowned rather than removed?

I hope your operation goes well

I can tell you are feeling really low and I suggest you call this helpline today, they are open today until 8pm.

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help/macmillan-support-line

Contact the hospital where you are going to be having the cancer removed and ask if there are any cancellations, whether you could be seen sooner as you are worried about it.

Otherwise really unless you have private healthcare or are willing to pay for the removal there isn’t much to do but wait. Possible you might be able to ask to be referred to a less busy hospital?

OP, are you being looked after by maxillofacial? Is there any plan for radiotherapy?

IME, usually teeth go before surgery because their long term prognosis can be affected by radiotherapy and treatment made more difficult.

Could you speak to your hospital consultant and ask?

It’s not the amalgam, it’s an understandable conclusion but it’s not. Smoking is such a massive risk factor. Have you been tested for HPV? That’s associated with about a quarter of tongue SCCs as far as I can remember.

Please try to get the teeth looked at as part of the overall treatment, well before the surgery.

HPV, sorry. Was my 1st thought. Nobody's fault.
i hope your recovery goes smoothly. Keep us updated if you can.

Can you not get an appointment with another dentist to get it removed

m.facebook.com/groups/644315286678819/?ref=share

Lots of support for people with mouth cancer in this FB group

Thank you all for your replies. I don't know if I need to have radiotherapy. If I do I'll ask about getting the tooth removed before. Everything just feels so hard. I had to fight so hard to get help with this. GP practice was useless as was Dentist, told me nothing was wrong. Even now that cancer is confirmed there seems no hurry to get it removed. I will ask if I can get it done quicker anywhere else but I suspect waiting lists are long everywhere. I'm so anxious, can't eat or sleep. I'm a single parent with an 8 Yr old daughter and I'm terrified the cancer has spread and I might die from this leaving her without her mum.

Hi @Desdemoana. My sister had tongue cancer (squamous cell carcinoma., stage 2) two years ago. She had an ulcer on her tongue, had the op and is cancer free.
As far as I'm aware, she doesn't have any fillings. She used to smoke but not lots.
Happy to have a chat about her experience if you like. One thing I want to mention is that her cancer was contained within the tongue so she never needed radio. The op was a hefty one, but they managed to remove all the cancer in the one operation.

Hi Boofay, thank you for sharing that. I'm so glad to hear the cancer didn't spread and your sister is cancer free. I hope and pray mine hasn't spread. The waiting is so hard, it all is taking so long.