Latest news with #tonguecancer
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
After 20 Years with Tongue Cancer and Losing Most of His Tongue, This Dad, 41, Is Determined to Speak Again (Exclusive)
Ryan Shinkle first noticed something was off at 25 years oldNEED TO KNOW Ryan Shinkle first noticed something was off with his tongue more than 20 years ago, at just 25 years old At the time, a small white patch had appeared on the left side of his tongue. A biopsy later confirmed it was precancerous leukoplakia Years later, Shinkle was diagnosed with tongue cancer. Now, 41, he's opening up on TikTok about his journeyRyan Shinkle's entire life revolves around speech. He built a successful career in sales and rose into leadership roles, currently serving as the head of sales for The Baldwin Group, a publicly traded insurance brokerage firm — where clear, confident communication is everything. So when doctors recently told the father of two that he might lose his ability to speak, the news was devastating. The Tampa, Fla., native first noticed something was off more than 20 years ago, at just 25. A small white patch had appeared on the left side of his tongue. A biopsy later confirmed it was precancerous leukoplakia. After relocating to Houston for work, Ryan — encouraged by his mother — began regular checkups at MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the country's leading cancer institutions. As life moved forward, Ryan met his now-wife, Ashley, and in 2014, they learned they were expecting their first child. But that year also brought heartbreaking news. 'I'd been monitoring the leukoplakia closely, and that time, a biopsy came back positive for cancer cells,' Ryan, now 41, tells PEOPLE exclusively over Zoom. He underwent his first partial glossectomy, a surgery to remove part of his tongue. For a time, things were stable. But in 2019, shortly after their second child was born, the cancer returned. Ryan endured a second partial glossectomy, hopeful it would be the final chapter in his cancer journey. Then, in January 2025, Ryan began feeling a familiar pain in his tongue. Ashley encouraged him to return to MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he had remained a patient even after moving back to Florida. Soon after, he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of this cancer include persistent sores, pain, difficulty swallowing or chewing and changes in speech. Tobacco is the single largest risk factor for tongue cancer. The tumor was classified as T-1 and located on the left side of his tongue. Surgery followed by radiation was the standard treatment plan. 'The team suggested I was a good candidate for an immunotherapy treatment that had shown success in shrinking other types of tumors and was in trial status for squamous cell carcinoma,' Ryan explains. The trial involved a six-week course of two immunotherapy drugs administered via IV. At first, the tumor appeared stable, maybe even slightly smaller. But during the second half of the trial, Ryan noticed rapid growth. "I noticed the tumor explode… it doubled in size,' he says. 'I alerted the team, but surgery was already scheduled, so there wasn't much to do in the two weeks until then." By the time he and Ashley returned to Houston for pre-op scans, the tumor's growth had accelerated significantly. His surgeon warned that Ryan might now require a total glossectomy, the complete removal of his tongue. The procedure could mean he might never speak again and could need a feeding tube for the rest of his life. "I had a meltdown. In six weeks, we went from a small tumor in an ideal position to the likely loss of my entire tongue," the dad of two, ages 10 and 6, says. "The concept of not being able to talk to my children shook me to my core." "His whole personality is built around how he talks,' Ashley continues. 'He's funny, witty and quick... your typical sales guy. So the thought of maybe not speaking again or being on a feeding tube was shocking." Leading up to surgery, Ashley, knowing how much Ryan loved public speaking and MC'ing at company events, also suggested something unexpected: Why not document the journey? Inspired by his wife, Ryan decided to create his own TikTok account, @dadgotyourtongue, and post his first video: "Preparing to have my tongue cut out and reconstructed with my forearm as if that's totally normal for a 41-year-old who's never touched tobacco," he wrote, filming himself walking into the hospital. Shortly after that post, Ryan underwent a complex 12-hour operation in Houston, where approximately two-thirds of his tongue was removed and reconstructed using a flap from his thigh. The procedure also included a complete neck dissection. The first half of the surgery involved removing the tumor and ensuring clear margins; the second half, performed by the plastic surgery team, focused on rebuilding what had been lost. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. At first, recovery appeared to be going well. Nurses monitored the blood flow to the new flap every hour using a Doppler machine, which functions much like an ultrasound. But about 36 hours after the operation, something went wrong. The flap had failed due to a blood clot. Ryan was rushed into emergency surgery, where doctors reconstructed his tongue again, this time using tissue from his left forearm. The original thigh flap was salvaged and used as a skin graft. "It was like a scene from ER," he says. "I was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the lights went by, trying not to panic. I couldn't talk, but I managed to write 'I love you' to my wife on a whiteboard." But Ryan's recovery wasn't without complications. Just seven days after surgery — and shortly after passing a swallow test and being discharged — he developed kidney stones and had to be readmitted to the hospital. Once stabilized, he turned his focus back to healing. As he regained strength, he began the slow, often frustrating process of relearning how to eat. Each small step forward felt like a victory. From mashed potatoes and pudding to scrambled eggs and soft pasta, every bite was progress. He also began simple tongue exercises to help retrain the muscles that remained functional. "I still have the base of the tongue and kind of the side,' Ryan adds. 'So this just has to compensate for everything over here that doesn't do anything. After surgery, obviously, there's tremendous swelling and as the swelling went down, my speech got better." Then came a breakthrough — the first word Ryan was able to speak. It was a few days after surgery. Although the tracheostomy was still in place, doctors had fitted him with a small 'vocal cap,' which redirected airflow to help him attempt speech. In that moment, Ryan turned to Ashley and said her name. "After a few days of preparing herself to never hear me talk again, I was able to say 'Ashley,' and she broke down in tears," he says. "I then said, 'I love you. Thank you for taking care of me.' Days later, I told her, 'I'm going to win, I'm going to get my speech back.' " But as Ryan continued to make progress, another challenge emerged: radiation. The treatment brought a new wave of difficulties — extreme fatigue, painful sores in his mouth, and a return to nutrient-packed smoothies just to maintain weight. Even as Ryan's physical voice faced new tests, his digital voice continued to grow stronger. He kept posting regularly on TikTok — sharing recovery tips, answering questions, and speaking candidly about both setbacks and victories. Through social media, he not only processed his own experience but helped others navigate theirs. 'It's been helpful for me to know other people are fighting the same battle. It's less lonely, and I'm hopeful I've provided some measure of the same sort of comfort.' That sense of connection — both online and at home — has shaped how Ryan sees the road ahead. As he looks to the future, he's thinking not just about recovery, but how to turn this experience into something greater. He's begun work on a book focused on overcoming adversity and achieving goals, and he hopes to build a platform that empowers others to improve their health or transform their lives in meaningful ways. Fortunately, Ryan's latest scans show no signs of cancer. It hadn't spread, and now he'll simply return for checkups every five years — a milestone that brings deep relief and renewed focus. "I'm more resilient than I ever thought I was," Ryan says. "In a way, more mentally tough and more mentally weak than I knew, and in finding peace with that. I've learned that I can survive anything and that surviving is worth it." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctors ignored my tongue lump... then I endured the 'most morbid' experience of my life
When Jamie Powell woke up one morning in late 2019 with a painful bump on her tongue, she assumed she had bitten it in her sleep. 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,
