Doctors ignored my tongue lump... then I endured the 'most morbid' experience of my life
Random bumps on the tongue generally heal on their own within a few days, but the one on Powell's stayed firm for two weeks.
Straining in front of a mirror to view her tongue in its entirety, Powell saw a protrusion of tissue, like a square stamp had traced the area perfectly. A bit farther back was the offending bump, large and nearly brushing the inside of her teeth.
Her dentist insisted that whatever it was, it would go away with time. Thirty-six at the time, fit, healthy, and a nonsmoker, Powell was not a high risk for cancer. But weeks passed, and the bump remained.
Powell went to an urgent care clinic in January 2020, where the doctor referred her to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, who performed a biopsy of the bump.
A week went by in silence until Powell got the news that the bump was cancerous, and it had spread to her lymph nodes.
Her diagnosis kicked off what she considers to be the most 'morbid' period of her life, starting with a tongue resection surgery and 30 grueling radiation treatments that she often wished she could quit early because the pain was so great.
Tongue cancer accounts for less than one percent of all new cancer cases in the US every year. Around 20,000 cases and 3,200 deaths are confirmed annually.
While the rate of deaths due to tongue cancer has remained about the same for about two decades, the patient profile of new cases of tongue cancer is beginning to shift from primarily older male smokers to women and younger healthy adults.
Oral cancers usually spread quickly if left untreated, and Powell is confident that hers was allowed to grow unchecked when she was sent home from her dentist's office over five years ago.
'It was scary and frustrating not to know what was going on and not having anyone listen to me,' she told People.
Powell had a section of her tongue surgically removed on March 23, 2020, just as Covid was getting its grip on the world. Doctors reconstructed it using tissue taken from her thigh.
'I remember the surgeon describing the surgery to me. I was just numb, and I heard him say that my voice will be different,' she said. 'I instantly thought of my kids. How will I sing to them? How will I tell them how much I love them?'
She then had all of the lymph nodes removed on her left side to stop the spread of the cancer in its tracks.
'I couldn't talk or eat. I had a feeding tube and I used my iPad to communicate to the doctors and nurses,' Powell said.
She also had to endure six weeks of radiation treatments.
With her head encased in a mesh mask that is bolted to a radiation table to ensure complete stillness, Powell suffered sunburn-like charred skin on her neck, blisters on her lips, and painful ulcers in her mouth.
Off the table, she was fatigued, nauseous, and had lost her sense of taste, so everything tasted of either wet cardboard or sewage. She also no longer had working salivary glands, resulting in a constant dry mouth.
'I'd rather do surgery every single day than go through head and neck radiation again,' Jamie, now 41, said.
She lost her ability to speak by week three of radiation, her mouth essentially one big canker sore.
After surgery, she had to retrain her brain to form sounds and piece them into words. She still has trouble with words starting with 'sh' and 'ch'.
Eating without salivary glands requires her to sip water after every bite. And if she has a dinner date with friends, she has to decide ahead of time whether she will eat or talk. She can no longer do both.
At bedtime, she does not recline. Instead, she sits back as if in an airplane seat, propped against acupressure pillows.
'Think about when you're sleeping and you wake up and your mouth is dry. I have that 24/7, and it's heightened to the next exponent at night. So I have to sleep sitting up no matter what,' she said.
'And I wake up every hour from choking because of the dry mouth, so I take a drink of water, and I also have a spray bottle, and I will spray the inside of my mouth, like how you water your house plant.'
Every morning, at four am, she has to pry her jaw open with both hands and use the handle of a spoon to prop her mouth open so that she can stretch it out.
'For months after radiation, I couldn't taste anything, then one morning I made my coffee and I could actually taste it - I cried,' she said.
Powell began documenting her experience on TikTok when she realized there were no other creators like her on the site.
Tongue cancer is rare, but federal tracking indicates it is becoming more common.
Rates of new cases have risen about 49 percent since 1992, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Cases are becoming increasingly common in women and young people, which scientists believe are tied to human papillomavirus.
About 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers affecting the tonsils, base of the tongue, soft palate, and throat are linked to HPV, yet only 61 percent of US teens are fully vaccinated against the virus, which requires two or three doses.
Over 42 million Americans carry HPV, a virus that causes genital warts and cancers like cervical, throat, and anal malignancies, with 47,000 new HPV-related cancer cases diagnosed yearly. Despite this, public awareness of HPV's cancer risks is declining, even as vaccination remains a critical defense.
'Most oral cancers are missed until it's in the later stages,' Powell said. 'I've learned that no one should go through this alone. The more we talk about this cancer, the more help we can be to one another.'
The Head & Neck Cancer Alliance has many free programs and resources for head and and neck cancer patients.
Anyone concerned about head and neck cancer can find the symptoms, risk factors, and guides on how to do a self exam on their website, HeadandNeck.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Legendary bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman reveals 13-year-old daughter stopped him dying from sepsis
Bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman has revealed how his teenage daughter helped save his life as he opened up on his severe health battle. Coleman's family announced earlier this month that the 61-year-old had been ' admitted to hospital' before later revealing he had suffered an 'infection in his bloodstream'. On Tuesday, the former Mr. Olympia spoke out for the first time since being hospitalized with sepsis - a life-threatening medical emergency that arises when the body reacts improperly to infection. The Louisiana native revealed just how close he came to losing that battle, if not for his 13-year-old daughter. 'Man, let me tell you, these past few weeks have been some of the toughest of my life,' he said in a video shared to his Instagram. 'Your boy was hit with sepsis, and it nearly killed me. Had it not been for my 13-year-old daughter, it probably would have.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ronnie Coleman (@ronniecoleman8) Coleman didn't expand on how his daughter helped prevent the disease from killing him. The bodybuilder has six daughters - two from his previous marriage and four he shares with his wife and personal trainer Susan Williamson. 'Y'all know me, I've been faced with battles in my life, but nothing like this,' he continued. 'I'm still here because the grace of God still wants me to be here. The support I get from all of y'all, that all helps out a lot.' Coleman went on to announce that his horrific ordeal had inspired him to support the Sepsis Alliance ro raise awareness. Concerns over his health initially arose after he was forced to postpone a scheduled trip to the UK last week. In an Instagram post, Coleman broke news of his illness as he wrote: 'Hey guys, I hate to break it to y'all, but I won't be able to make it out to the UK this week like I planned. Unfortunately, I had a medical emergency and had to stick around here in the U.S. for treatment. 'But don't worry… I'm in great hands, getting the best care, and I'm staying strong through it all. I'll be back and better than ever, and I can't wait to get out there and see you all real soon!' His family later revealed that Coleman would require emergency surgery after doctors discovered an 'underlying health issue' during testing to identify the source of the infection. Coleman holds the, joint, all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight. He's also previously won 26 International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) titles and retired back in 2007 after his reign as Mr. Olympia came to an end.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Millions more Americans now deemed obese under shocking new weight measure
Millions more Americans could be classified as obese under a shocking new measurement from Europe. Researchers in Israel analyzed data on 44,000 adults in the US, including nearly 15,000 marked as overweight using existing methods. But under the new framework, they found some 18.8 percent of overweight adults, or one in five, were re-classified as obese. Overall, this translated into America having an obesity rate of 54.2 percent, or a new record. The US already has the highest obesity rate out of any large country. In the new method from Europe, researchers still consider anyone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 kg/m2 as obese. But they also re-classify anyone who is overweight (a BMI or 25 to 29.9 kg/m2) and has an obesity-related condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure, into the category. Researchers said the new definition reveals the overall toll of obesity in the nation, and the surging number of people already suffering from obesity-related conditions like stroke, heart disease and early death. It also revealed how millions who consider themselves 'just a little overweight' could now be suffering from a weight-related complication. About 42.4 percent of adults in the US are obese, while 30.7 percent, or one in three, are considered overweight. For the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed data from NHANES, an annual survey tracking participants, including their BMI and underlying conditions. Participants had all submitted data between 1999 and 2018, and were aged 43.4 years old on average. About half were women. The study found that using BMI alone, about 35.4 percent of participants were considered obese, while 33.3 percent were considered overweight and 31.3 percent were considered to be a healthy weight. But after using the new method, developed by The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), a total of 54.2 percent were defined as obese. Of the individuals moved from the overweight to the obese category, they were more likely to be older, with an average age of 51.3 years compared to 36.5 years among those in the overweight category. They were also more likely to be male, and to have at least one underlying condition, with 57.5 percent having one underlying condition like diabetes compared to 34.3 percent in the overweight group. Among the conditions, high blood pressure (79 percent of the group) was most common, followed by arthritis (33.2 percent) and diabetes (15.6 percent). EASO published its new framework in July last year, and some countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands, have already adopted parts of it. The framework recommends surgeons calculate a patient's BMI and then assess underlying health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. Under the guidelines, anyone whose BMI is above 30 kg/m2 is automatically classified as obese. But those who are overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, and have at least one obesity-related health condition are also considered obese. The framework has not been adopted by other major organizations like the World Health Organization, which still recommends using BMI. It can help someone to be defined as obese because it may lead to them being targeted for early interventions to prevent complications like heart disease or stroke. It could also make it easier for them to access medications like Ozempic and help the patient recognize that they may need care. For the study, researchers also analyzed participants for their mortality risk, or risk of death. They found those who were redefined as obese had a similar mortality risk to those who were overweight, but a 50 percent higher risk than those of the healthy weight. In the study, the researchers wrote that the EASO framework may provide a 'more sensitive tool for diagnosing obesity disease earlier'. It added that some people may have experienced unintentional weight loss due to underlying conditions, which may previously have led them to be included in the overweight category.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
I traded booze for THC drinks. But are there hidden risks?
Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire, has said he avoids substances like caffeine because he likes 'rawdogging' reality. I, on the other hand, do not. I mean, have you seen reality lately? For most of my adult life, alcohol has been my preferred way to take the edge off. But, like a lot of other people, I got older and realized regular drinking was not doing me any favours. Last year, I experimented with 'intermittent sobriety', taking months off here and there. It helped, but it was also easy to slip back into bad habits. This year, I've jumped on the California-sober bandwagon, trading booze for the hemp-derived THC drinks that are rapidly growing in popularity. (THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the psychoactive component of cannabis.) I've never had any interest in smokable or edible THC in the past – as a green card holder, I reckon I should make that very clear to any immigration officers reading. But these new drinks have been a game-changer. The dosage is clearly marked and the effects are felt almost as quickly as alcohol thanks to a technology called nanoemulsification, which turns the THC into tiny water-soluble droplets that are more rapidly absorbed by the body than traditional edibles. Having a 5mg THC seltzer or infused cocktail in the evening scratches the 'I need to unwind' itch for me with seemingly no short-term negative effects, like a hangover. While I find THC doesn't deliver quite the dopamine rush alcohol does, low doses give me a relaxing warm fuzz, and have been great for my anxiety. Most importantly, it's helped me kick the alcohol habit; I've never felt healthier. Apart from the hefty price tag (one can costs $5-$7), these drinks feel a little too good to be true. So are they? The short answer is: sort of. First, their legality is a little … hazy. Marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law in the US, although some states have legalized it for recreational and/or medicinal purposes. But under the 2018 Farm Bill, any cannabis plant with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight is considered hemp and is no longer a controlled substance. This loophole has birthed a booming market: THC beverages are expected to be a $4bn industry by 2028, according to Euromonitor International. (Even comedian Seth Rogen has jumped in with his own line of drinks, called Houseplant.) Depending on the state, you might find these drinks in grocery or liquor stores. Some brands sell online, but while hemp-derived THC is federally legal, this is a grey area, and some states have imposed restrictions on products containing it. Whether birthing a THC product industry was an intention of the Farm Bill is unclear. 'Some independent attorneys argue it was,' says Hilary Bricken, a lawyer who specializes in cannabis. 'Others say absolutely not: the bill was meant to promote things like textiles, not consumer-facing drugs. But ultimately, it's enforcement, or the lack of it, that's allowed this market to develop the way it has.' 'There's no federal regulation unless a particular state steps in,' says Bricken. 'Some states, like Minnesota, regulate these products. Others, like California, have banned them entirely.' (In California, these unregulated hemp-derived THC products are banned, but THC products that comply with the state's cannabis regulations can legally be sold at cannabis dispensaries.) But there are other risks to be aware of. 'Practices vary wildly between operators,' says Bricken. 'For the consumer, it's hard to tell what's actually in the drink. There's no federal standard, so it's essentially dealer's choice on the operator side. While the original hemp might have tested under the 0.3% THC threshold, post-harvest it can be transformed in ways that technically still comply with federal law. But many believe that most of what's being sold is synthetically derived, and potentially contains toxic compounds.' Even in a best-case scenario where you're buying from a responsible operator, THC isn't as harmless as many believe. A recent study led by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found people who regularly used marijuana in either smokable or edible form had reduced blood vessel function comparable to tobacco smokers. This is associated with a greater risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular issues. 'We saw a 42% reduction in vascular function in marijuana smokers and 56% in THC edible users,' said lead study author Leila Mohammadi. 'The effect was dose-dependent: the more someone used per week, the worse their vascular function.' Worryingly, even relatively small doses of 2.5mg multiple times a week seemed to have a harmful effect. The study didn't look at drinkable THC; a single can typically contains 2.5-10mg, though some products have considerably more. But Mohammadi notes there's no reason to think drinkable products would be significantly different. THC can also affect cognitive function, especially in adolescents, whose endocannabinoid systems – which interact with cannabinoids like THC and regulate critical bodily functions – are still developing. The long-term effects are complex, and research is ongoing, but one clearly documented risk of THC use in adolescence is in how the body handles fat, says Daniele Piomelli, a neuroscientist and leading cannabis researcher at the University of California at Irvine. 'In adolescents who use cannabis heavily, the fat in their bodies becomes dysfunctional. Normally, during times of stress or intense cognitive effort, the brain uses glucose for energy but can also tap into energy derived from fat. But frequent cannabis users often lose that ability,' notes Piomelli. That means they might find concentrating more difficult. 'There's a large body of evidence suggesting a link – not necessarily causation, but a strong association – between cannabis use in adolescence and increased risk of psychosis,' says Piomelli. And while these drinks are only supposed to be consumed by people over 21, adolescence for men is longer than women and 'really continues until 25 or 26'. Even if you're an old crone like me, there are risks. A low-dosage THC drink now and again probably won't do much harm, but it's easy to accidentally go overboard. 'The real problem is that, like many things in the US, we don't do moderation well,' says Piomelli. 'Some of these seltzers now contain up to 100mg of THC. That's enough to send even an experienced user to the hospital if they're not expecting it. Not because THC is deadly – you can't overdose fatally on THC, even if you tried. But the experience can be incredibly unpleasant and disorienting, and recovery might take a couple of days.' It doesn't help that the category is bringing in lots of inexperienced THC users, and dosage guidelines and risks often aren't made particularly clear. In states like New Jersey, you can find THC-infused beverages containing 25mg of THC (not a negligible amount!) in the grocery store, stocked next to seltzers and energy drinks. You can very easily imagine a scenario where someone downs one of these without knowing exactly what they're getting themselves into. If you are intrigued by these beverages, experts say education and a slow start are critical. Start with 2.5mg or less and work your way up incrementally. While it's hard to generalize about effects, Piomelli notes that 'for a person in their 20s to 40s, weighing anywhere from 50-80kg (110-175lbs), 10-20mg of THC per serving would be enough to produce a noticeable buzz – definitely not enough to cause a full-blown high for someone who isn't a regular user.' Sign up to Well Actually Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life after newsletter promotion 'I always say: know before you go,' says Harvard neuroscientist Staci Gruber, who directs the longest-running study of medical cannabis use in the United States. 'What's your goal? Are you looking for mild relaxation or trying to manage chronic pain? Your intention should guide your choice of product.' Many of these THC drinks also include CBD, which is one of the main non-intoxicating components of cannabis, and alters the experience. 'Some research suggests CBD can mitigate some of THC's negative effects, like anxiety or paranoia,' Gruber explains. No matter the ratio, the dose of THC is what's really important. 'THC at low doses is often anxiolytic: it can reduce anxiety and make people feel more relaxed,' says Gruber. 'But at higher doses, it becomes anxiogenic – it can actually cause anxiety. The problem is, what counts as a 'low dose' varies widely from person to person.' THC may have its risks but, just asking for a friend: is going California-sober still healthier than drinking alcohol? After all, alcohol heightens the risks of at least seven types of cancer and the World Health Organization has said no level of consumption is safe. Unfortunately, scientists don't give black-and-white statements that affirm your life choices; they qualify things. And the answer to whether going California-sober is a harm-reduction strategy is: it depends. 'It really depends on the person,' says Ziva Cooper, director of the University of California at Los Angeles Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Factors like someone's age, individual vulnerability and what they're doing while intoxicated can influence the effects, as can frequency and dose of ingestion. 'Some people may have a family history of psychosis or mood disorders,' says Cooper. 'Others may be using very high doses regularly.' But there are risks either way: 'Some are associated with frequent use, and others with being a novice user. One unexpected risk we're now seeing is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome – basically, heavy users presenting to the ER with severe nausea and vomiting. That was completely off the radar a few years ago.' Cooper notes that scientific research is still lagging behind the market. 'We need better data, more funding and more research, especially because half the adult population is using cannabis products in some form now,' she says. Many THC startups, and their new users, are on a high, but they might be headed for a comedown. 'A lot of these hemp companies are acting like they're too big to fail, like they can't be touched,' says Bricken. 'Maybe that'll end up being true. But right now, nobody really knows how it will play out.' Hemp-derived THC is receiving a lot more scrutiny, and increased regulation – even possible prohibition – is on the horizon. Last month, a key US House committee approved a spending bill, championed by the representative Andy Harris, a long-term prohibitionist, that walks back the legal definition of hemp. The bill still has to pass the House and Senate. But if it does get signed into law, the loophole these hemp-derived THC drink companies rely on will close, and they will have to stop operating in their current form. Separately, Congress generally renews the Farm Bill, a mammoth piece of legislation that funds major agriculture and food programs in the US, every five years. The current bill, which contains the hemp loophole, expired in October 2023 and Congress has since passed two one-year extensions. While they could potentially extend for another year, there's a strong possibility that a new version will be debated later this year. When this happens, Bricken thinks, we'll see the hemp-derived THC loophole either get closed or distilled into some kind of regulatory framework. 'Hemp companies are scrambling to gain ground before anything changes,' notes Bricken. 'They're surprisingly well-organized from a lobbying perspective, and some factions in the alcohol industry support them. But prohibitionist groups are also lobbying hard.' Xander Shepherd, co-founder of THC aperitif brand Artet (his 86-year-old grandmother's art adorns the bottles), says that flux in this sector is nothing new: 'I've almost become numb to the constant changes, whether it's the Farm Bill or state-level regulations. I try to remind myself it's kind of like two steps forward, one step back. But overall, I really believe the industry is moving in the right direction.' While all of this is playing out, I'm going to continue sipping legal THC drinks – albeit with a little more caution than before. Going California-sober is clearly not the healthiest choice in the world but, speaking from a purely personal level, the highs currently outweigh the lows.
