Hi everyone,
Several years ago my father was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the base of his tongue. It was treated successfully with radiation and chemotherapy. He had both a feeding tube and a trach (since removed). Recovery was (and is) a long hard road. Recently he began experiencing unilateral paralysis of the tongue. Eating has been hard for him since his treatment began - his taste buds are shot and his mouth is very sensitive to foods. Also, extensive damage has been done to his jaw and teeth (recurrent infections and such). These combined with the partial paralysis of his tongue have really taken a toll on him physically and emotionally. His otolaryngologst is still unsure whether this is a reoccurance of the cancer. CAT and MRI scans were inconclusive - detecting a small mass on the tongue - but they don't know if it's scar tissue or cancerous cells. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar to this. Especially with with tongue paralysis.We love our dad very much and anything that would help him out would be greatly apprecitated. Thanks.

I would guess that the only way to be sure if the small mass on your father's tongue is Cancerous would be to ask the consultant to perform a biopsy. The jaw and teeth infections are something i'm familiar with and i've just got over another bout of "Lockjaw" as I call it, and gum infection. I've lost a few teeth as a result of Rad damage.
I hope your dad gets to the root of the problems he's currently experiencing Sabine.

Steve
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Vinod

Thanks for your reply Steve. They've scheduled my dad for a PET scan and a biopsy. He seems bummed about going down this road again which is more than understandable. Due to the radiation damage in his throat the biopsy will mean he's back on a feeding tube for a bit. Hopefully this turns out to be scar tissue that's pressing on the nerve - if it is he'll be looking into hyperbaric chamber treatment which in the past really improved his jaw infections. He is very set that this is a reoccurance of his cancer but his doctors are hopefull that it's not. It's just hard seeing him so upset and he's such a good dad that he tries to hide it but I can tell when he's upset.