I Blamed My Ulcers On Stress Until My Tongue Was Removed

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Health

By Brooke Steinberg

April 12, 2023 | 3:18 p.m.

A student with ulcers blamed it on exam stress but ended up having to have the majority of her tongue removed and then reconstructed when it turned out to be cancer.

Rachel Morton from Edinburgh, Scotland started noticing ulcers on her tongue in 2019 and initially thought they were the result of stress.

When I’m a little tired or exhausted or stressed from exams I seem to be a little prone to ulcers anyway so I kind of put it down to that and started college, a Morton explained. I went to the doctor and was given painkillers, Bonjela and stuff like that.

But after a year, his condition worsened.

I still had them a year later but wasn’t too worried about it. I had so many other things to do in my life and it wasn’t really in the forefront of my mind, she told Kennedy News and Media.

At first it was a few ulcers, but over the course of a year they grew bigger and spread, and covered the whole side of my tongue. They were really red, raw and sore.

Rachel Morton ended up having to have her tongue removed and reconstructed when her ulcers turned out to be cancer. Kennedy News and Media

Morton, now 21, was also experiencing odd symptoms such as extreme fatigue; dry, red and swollen lips; tonsil pain; and abnormal sensation in the left side of his face. She couldn’t get her tongue out of her mouth.

I had tongue ulcers on my 18th birthday, she said. I couldn’t really drink alcohol because they were so painful.

She went to have it checked by many doctors and a dentist, and was prescribed antibiotics. A doctor even told him that there was really nothing else we could do.

Morton when she first noticed ulcers on her tongue.Kennedy News and Media

At that time, I started having very strong tonsil pains. I felt like I had a sinus infection or an ear infection. Everything on the left side of my face and neck felt bad, she recalled.

She was tested for a wide range of conditions, including hemochromatosis, an inherited disorder that causes the body to accumulate too much iron, according to the CDC.

Morton was eventually referred for a biopsy, which revealed she had tongue cancer at age 19.

The biopsy was probably one of the worst experiences of all of this, it was absolutely horrible. You’re lying there, they’re numbing you, of course, but it’s the sound of scissors cutting your tongue. Because it’s such a strong muscle, it really took a lot of strength, she said.

I had tongue ulcers on my 18th birthday. I couldn’t really drink alcohol because they were so painful, Morton said. Kennedy News and Media

Morton shared that she knew she had cancer the moment doctors called her saying it was urgent.

We went into the surgeons room and there was a box of tissues. There were all these little [cues] It got me thinking, Oh, okay. I know what’s happening now, she said. He never really spoke to someone as young as me with tongue cancer. He said he only treated people over 60, usually men, who had smoked and drank all their lives.

Tongue cancer is most common among men over 60, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases. It is rare in people, especially women under the age of 40.

Morton showing the effects of radiation therapy. Kennedy News and Media

Like he was telling me I had cancer, I don’t remember but my mom yes, he had this rash as he was trying to tell us because he was so uncomfortable. I felt sorry for him because it was a horrible situation, Morton shared.

It was a truly surreal experience. You go into survival mode. You think, OK, this is reality, this is what will happen, and I will be fine.

Tongue cancer begins with the cells of the tongue and can occur in two places: in the mouth (cancer of the mouth) or in the throat (cancer of the hypopharynx), according to the Mayo Clinic.

Morton’s leg here seen five days after surgery was used to reconstruct part of his mouth and neck. Kennedy News and Media

After being diagnosed, Morton had to undergo 10 different surgeries within 16 hours. According to Kennedy News, this included breaking his jaw, removing two-thirds of his tongue, lymph nodes and blood supply that could carry malignant cells.

Surgeons then used the muscles and blood vessels in his thigh to reconstruct his tongue and the arteries and veins in his neck.

After the operation, Morton had to learn to walk and talk again, but that didn’t stop her from studying and attending online lectures, which she resumed four days later.

Morton used a nebulizer, which WebMD says is a machine that turns the drug into a liquid mist so it can be inhaled during radiation therapy. Kennedy News and Media

The dancer and baker underwent two rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiotherapy and six months of speech therapy before being officially told she was cured of cancer in June 2021.

Morton now has what she called a Harry Potter-like scar on her chin, a tracheotomy scar, and scars on her neck, stomach, and leg.

I really like my scars. It is really important to integrate them as [part of] who I am and I’m really proud,” Morton told Kennedy News.

Morton had a rash and facial swelling before the diagnosis. Kennedy News and Media

The student, who wants to become a psychiatrist, has learned to accept her scars and says she doesn’t really wear makeup to cover them up.

I’m proud of my body for being able to overcome that. My scars are part of me and they will be for the rest of my life, and it shows how resilient and strong and powerful my body is, and I want to reflect that on the inside and do myself justice, he said. she declared.

Morton is now involved in raising awareness of tongue cancer symptoms and is a member of the Teenage Cancer Trust UK.

For those who sense something is wrong, trust your intuition. If your body is telling you something is wrong, it probably isn’t. We know Advocating for yourself is difficult, but you have to do it, she advised.

Morton Six Days After SurgeryKennedy News and Media

She also urges doctors to think outside the box.

One of my key messages for healthcare professionals would be to look beyond the manual. We learned in medical school that this, this and that equals this, but that’s not how life is so different for everyone and no two bodies are the same, so how can we we reduce this to a textbook? Morton said.

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