Reply #5: I'm in my third year of remission

[AlienGirl]

At 28, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. At the time, I was a married, stay-at-home mother of two.

I went through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The radiation turned the inside of my mouth into a raw wound; during the worst of it, drinking water was difficult and sipping the canned shakes I survived on was torturous. I lost my senses of taste and smell, and the swelling in my ears made me nearly deaf. I lost my voice, to the point that when I called my Mom to tell her my husband had left me and ask to come home to recover, I could barely whisper.

It took a few months of healing before I was able to eat again. My taste slowly came back, though changed--I am no longer able to eat the spicy foods I loved before, and I like sweets a whole lot more now. I slowly regained my weight...at around 95 lbs, my periods started up again and I broke out in acne and went through what was almost a mini-puberty. Living with my parents again brought me to an appreciation of them that I hadn't had before: I got to see just how devoted they were to caring for me, from the perspective not of a selfish child, but an aware adult.

Eventually I was well. I moved out. I moved on.

Now I am 32. I have a job and an internship. I'm in a new relationship with a man who believes in honor and loyalty (DU's own everythingsxen!). And I graduate from college on June 10.

There is life after cancer.

Tucker